Astronomy is a fully international endeavor. To participate in the international scientific community, American researchers must meet and collaborate with researchers from around the world, and to do this they must attend international scientific meetings. These meetings provide a forum for interacting with other researchers, forming collaborations, presenting new results and participating in the international scientific community.
This award will provide support for US astronomers, postdocs, and students to participate in international professional meetings. The award will cover three years of travel grants, including a large number of grants (approximately 120) that will support travel to the IAU General Assembly which will be held in Beijing, China in 2012. This award will be especially important to early-career researchers and those from less-endowed institutions as it will help give them the opportunity to actively participate in these important meetings.
The American Astronomical Society is the primary membership organization for professional researchers in the astronomical sciences in North America. The organization has nearly 8000 members in total, who work in all areas of astronomy-related research; from planetary science to cosmology and the Sun ,stars, galaxies and everything in between. In addition to publishing the leading research journals in the field and holding the largest conferences, we also work to enable our researchers to grow in their careers and improve US Astronomy generally. One way we do this is by holding special career development activities at our meeting. Another is by publishing job advertisements specific to astronomy. Another is by hosting information about careers in astronomy on our web pages. We also think it is important to facilitate travel to foreign conferences by US astronomers, especially early-career astronomers, graduate students and individuals at smaller institutions with less access to travel support. This program, the AAS International Travel Grant Program, supported by NSF funding, provides the support needed to send these astronomers overseas to attend foreign conferences. Each year, (this year we sent 57) we send roughly sixty researchers to foreign conferences. The NSF provides funding for a round-trip, coach-class airline ticket and a small amount of funds for grant administration. The AAS selects the recipients through a review panel process. Awardees have to minimize the amount spent to the best extent possible, while utilizing US flag carriers. Upon return from their conference, the awardees must submit a brief report summarizing their experience and the impact on their career. A requirement is that the traveller be presenting research or serving an important role at the conference in question. Uniformly, awardees state that the trip has benefitted their career and the program overall helps ensure a high level of US participation in foreign conferences. All of science is truly global in nature and only by interacting with foreign scientists can US scientists remain competitive. Our small program helps ensure this is true in the Astronomical sciences and collaborations and observing projects have developed from interactions between US Astronomers and foreign Astronomers during these conference meetings. They truly allow deep and important networking and interaction to take place and help US Astronomy grow and develop, while providing tangible training and real-life experience to our early-career astrronomers. The American Astronomical Society is proud to be able to administer this program on behalf of US Astronomy and will seek to continue the program in the future.
