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One
Day Community Workshop on The UK Exoplanet Roadmap
- Wed 25 May 2005 1100 - 1700
UCL, Gower Street, Room FOSTER 101 Click here for map
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You are invited to an open meeting to help develop a
road map for Exoplanet science in the UK. This meeting
is organised by the UK Exoplanet Forum - a small PPARC
body that has been asked to develop a UK focused roadmap
that maximises our ability to maintain a world leading
position in Exoplanet research. The Roadmap will examine
current provision in ground and space based observations,
theory and computational aspects of exoplanet research,
associated instrumentation development, and the contributions
that can come from the astrobiology and Comparative Planetology
communities. We encourage everyone interested, from academics
to postgraduate students, to come and tell us about your
visions for the future of Exoplanet science in the UK,
so that we can present a strategic roadmap for the future.
Please register at http://www.pparc.ac.uk/Rs/Pp/Sp/Exoplanets.aspx
The remit of this Committee is:
(a) To identify the existing strengths of the UK community
in the discovery and study of exoplanets and their formation
(including relevant areas of planetary science, solar
system studies, meteoritics, comparative planetology)
and the associated technologies, instrumentation and
telescope facilities
(b) To outline the scientific challenges that must be
met to advance our understanding of planet formation,
the population of exoplanets, their properties and ultimately
their potential for harbouring life
(c) To identify how existing facilities and facilities
in preparation or proposed can be exploited cost-effectively
from a UK perspective to advance these studies
(d) To investigate the possibilities for new facilities
and technologies that would help to meet the science
goals, with special consideration for the potential involvement
of UK industry
(e) To provide information and suggestions that will
help to define a cost-effective route map for PPARC to
ensure that the UK is a major participant in the rapidly
developing field of Exoplanet research and the possibilities
for extra-terrestrial life
(f) To promote the interests of the Exoplanet Community
to PPARC to ensure that that Exoplanet focused work is
centrally positioned in its long term strategic planning
This exercise seeks to develop an understanding of the
needs and challenges for the present Exoplanet Community,
extending from the present program through a route to
maximise the scientific, technical and industrial returns
on the 2015 ESA DARWIN mission. PPARC wishes to ensure
that the UK community has the opportunity to be fully
involved in this consultation process.
The primarily focus of this meeting is to provide a
forum for dialogue between PPARC and the various UK groups
and project teams interested in Exoplanet Science and
associated instrumentation. The format of the meeting
will be to focus discussion around a number of topics:
* Exoplanet observations
* Exoplanet modeling
* Associated technology and telescope development
* Exoplanet atmospheres
* Associated Laboratory based work
The meeting will discuss each of these issues, with
a short (15 minute presentation to set the scene by a
member of the organizing team, followed by short contributions
(2 transparent overheads maximum) from anyone who would
like to present ideas. There will also be an opportunity
to present posters. If you would like to present a short
contribution or display a poster then please send an
email a title to Glenn White (g.j.white@kent.ac.uk).
We hope to hear at the meeting of everything that you
would like to see contained in our roadmap. The main
part of the meeting should however be through dialogue
with the audience - we want to hear your ideas. If anyone
is unable to attend the meeting, and would like to provide
written input, please send it to Glenn White before the
meeting.
The forum's executive committee are: Glenn White (Kent,
Chairman), Monica Grady (Open University - also PPARC
Science Committee member), Keith Horne (St Andrews),
Andy Longmore (ATC), Hugh Jones (Hertfordshire), Matt
Burleigh (Leicester), Richard Nelson (QMW), Stephen Smartt
(QUB as PPARC AAP representative), supported by Colin
Vincent and Simon Berry (PPARC)
A major role of the forum is to produce a roadmap to
advise PPARC on policy issues concerned with the future
development and direction exoplanet science. Therefore,
if you are involved in exoplanet science or envisage
becoming involved in the near future but are not able
to attend the meeting then please send a summary of
your intentions before Tuesday May 10th. We will then
factor this into our deliberations to ensure we are
complete in our representation of the UK community's
view.
We ask everyone planning to attend the meeting to register
at http://www.pparc.ac.uk/Rs/Pp/Sp/Exoplanets.aspx so
that we can make provision for a simple lunch, which
will be provided by PPARC. A programme and agenda will
be distributed later to everyone registered |
