General information

The International LOFAR Telescope (ILT) consortium will host workshops for the LOFAR community from April 4-7, 2016 in Zandvoort aan Zee, The Netherlands. The events will begin on Monday, April 4, with the Third LOFAR Users Meeting, open to the whole LOFAR community, organized by the Radio Observatory to provide a forum for users to both learn about the status of the array as well as give feedback. Following the Users Meeting, the 2016 LOFAR Community Science workshop will kick off on Tuesday morning, April 5 and run through the end of the day on Wednesday, April 6. The two events are naturally related. The Users Meeting will set the scene for the Science Workshop, by discussing the operational status of LOFAR, technical developments, software enhancements, and improvements in calibration and imaging techniques.

Participants are therefore encouraged to attend both events. One registration fee is applied. There is no registration fee for the ILT Technical Operations meeting.

 

On Thursday 7 April, the ILT Technical Operations Meeting will take place. This meeting is open to the the technical staff from the various international LOFAR stations to discuss issues related to station operations, scheduling, and maintenance.

 

 

Third LOFAR Users Meeting, 4 April 2016

 

On Monday, staff from the ASTRON Radio Observatory will host the third LOFAR users meeting. This meeting is aimed at wide-ranging dialogue with the full LOFAR community, and is intended to bring together members of the Key Science Projects (KSPs), researchers with approved LOFAR projects, as well as any potential LOFAR users. ASTRON RO staff will demonstrate the current status of the LOFAR instrument and summarize plans for future development of software and procedures. This overview will naturally lay the scene for the science meeting of the following two days. For the users, this meeting represents an important forum for discussion, where they will have the opportunity to give their feedback on LOFAR operations and development, and highlight, when required, the need for improvement or change.

Attendance from all LOFAR users is highly encouraged. The meeting will take place on Monday, April 4 from 11:00-18:00.

 

 

 

The 2016 LOFAR Community Science Workshop, 5+6 April 2016

 

This workshop will represent the fifth annual meeting of the LOFAR science collaboration since the onset of regular LOFAR science operations. These workshops aim to bring together all active LOFAR users, including members of the Key Science Project teams as well as any other researchers from the European and global community involved with, or interested in, LOFAR science. Following up on the operational overview provided by the Users meeting, this two-day workshop will feature a wide range of talks on exciting new scientific results from the Cycle observing programs. The workshop program will cover the gamut of the LOFAR science case from cosmology and extragalactic research to galactic, planetary, and solar system topics.

Special emphasis will be given in the program to younger members of the collaboration to allow them a chance to showcase their results.

 

 

 

ILT Technical Operations Meeting, 7 April 2016

 

The final meeting of the week will be the ILT Technical Operations Meeting on Thursday, 7 April, 2016 from 09:30-14:00. This meeting provides an opportunity for members of the technical staff from the various international LOFAR stations to discuss issues related to station operations, scheduling, and maintenance. Attendance for this meeting is limited to technical personnel involved in the operation and maintenance of LOFAR stations. If you would like to attend the meeting, please indicate your interest on the registration form. There is no registration fee for the ILT Technical Operations meeting.