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RSAA Annual Report 2001

RESEARCH SCHOOL OF ASTRONOMY & ASTROPHYSICS

ANNUAL REPORT 2001

The Institute of Advanced Studies The Australian National University

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RSAA Annual Report 2001

Research School of Astronomy & Astrophysics Institute of Advanced Studies The Australian National University (CRICOS #00120C) Mount Stromlo Observatory Cotter Road Weston Creek Canberra ACT 2611 Australia Ph: +61 (02) 6125 0230 Fax: +61 (02) 6125 0233 www: http://msowww.anu.edu.au

Siding Spring Observatory Coonabarabran NSW 2057 Ph: +61 (02) 6842 6262 Fax: +61 (02) 6842 6240

Mount Stromlo Visitors' Centre Ph: +61 (02) 6125 0232 Fax: +61 (02) 6125 8045 www: http://msowww.anu.edu.au/exploratory

Front Cover: A montage of Institute of Scientific Information Citation Laureates: Prof. Jeremy Mould, Prof. Mike Dopita, Prof. Ken Freeman, Prof. Mike Bessell, Dr Bruce Peterson and Dr Matthew Colless.

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RSAA Annual Report 2001

CONTENTS

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Staff Scientific Highlights Other Highlights Public Outreach From the Director's Office Eulogy- Dr N. Visvanathan Research Instrumentation Graduate Program in Astronomy & Astrophysics Visitors to the Observatories and Colloquia Staff Activities Honours, Awards and Grants External Collaborations Conferences Attended Teaching/Courses Taught Committee Service and Related Responsibilities RSAA Committees RSAA Membership on University Committees RSAA Membership of External Committees Publications

5 11 15 18 21 24 27 39 43 47 51 51 53 59 63 65 65 70 71 75

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RSAA Annual Report 2001

ANNUAL REPORT 2001 RESEARCH SCHOOL OF ASTRONOMY & ASTROPHYSICS STAFF
Director Interim Director Associate Directors Professors JR Mould (to February) JE Norris (from February) MS Bessell (Associate Director for Instrument Development) JE Norris (Associate Director for Observatory Operations) MS Bessell, BSc, Tas., PhD MA Dopita, MA Oxf., MSc, PhD, Manc., FAA KC Freeman, BSc, W. Aust., PhD, Camb., FAA, FRS JR Mould, BSc, Melb., PhD, FAA (to February) JE Norris, BSc, PhD RD Ekers, BSc, Adel., PhD, FAA, ARAS TS Axelrod, BS, Caltech, MS Stanford, PhD UCSC GV Bicknell, MSc, PhD, Syd. MM Colless, BSc, Syd., PhD, Camb. GS Da Costa, BSc, Monash, PhD AJ Kalnajs, SB, MIT, PhD, Harv. PJ McGregor, BSc, Adel., PhD BA Peterson, ScB, MIT, MS, PhD, Caltech PR Wood, BSc, Qld., PhD SP Driver, BSc, Leicester, PhD, Cardiff (from Nov) PJ Francis, BA, PhD, Camb (Snr.Lecturer, Physics, The Faculties) RP Saglia, IREX Fellow, Munich BP Schmidt, BS, Phys, BS Astron, Az., AM, PhD, Harv. J Bland-Hawthorn, BSc Astron, PhD, Sussex EM Sadler, BSc, Qld., PhD CW Stubbs, BSc, Virginia, MSc, PhD, Washington M de Kool, BSc, PhD, Amst. CA Jackson, MA, PhD, Camb, FRAS H Jerjen, Dip PhD, Basel RS Sutherland, BSc, PhD

Adjunct Professor Senior Fellows

Fellows

Adjunct Fellows

Research Fellows

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RSAA Annual Report 2001 Postdoctoral Fellows R De Propris, BSc, London, MSc, PhD, Victoria (from Oct) MN Sevenster, BSc, MSc, PhD, Leiden (to June) Dr EC Sung, IREX Fellow, Korea Astron. Obs. Dr H Cao, Beijing Astronomical Observatory Prof M-S Chun, Yonsei University Dr L Ferrario, Department of Mathematics, ANU Dr R Fux, Geneva Dr W Harris, McMaster University, Canada Dr G Harris, University of Waterloo, Canada Mr T Jarvis, Morehead Scholar, North Carolina Dr P Mazzali, Max-Planck Institute for Astrophysics Dr C Saxton, University of Sydney Prof DWN Stibbs, Napier Professor Emeritus, St Andrews Em Prof SCB Gascoigne, AO, MSc NZ, PhD Brist, FAA, ARAS Em Prof DS Mathewson, MSc Qld., PhD Manc, FTS, FAIP Mr Mr Dr Dr Dr Stephen Barlow, University of Canterbury Michael Begam, University of Virginia Luc Binette, Inst. De Astronomia, Mexico Mariarosa Cioni, Leiden Obs., Netherlands Alejandro Clocchiatti, Pontificia Univ. Catolica

Visiting Fellows

Honorary Faculty

Observatory Visitors

de Chile Ms Kathryn Deeley, UNSW Ms Marianne Doyle, University of Queensland Dr Don Faulkner (retired) Rev Dr Tom Frame, Bungendore (The History of MSO) Dr Marla Geha, University of California, Lick Dr Paul Harding, Case Western Reserve University Prof Philip Ianna, University of Virginia Dr Masatoshi Imanishi, National Optical Ob., Japan Ms Inese Ivans, University of Texas at Austin Ms Mi-Ju Kang, Chungnam Natl. University, S. Korea Mr Kevin Krisciunas, Cerro Tololo Interamerican Obs, Chile Dr Dr Ms Dr Dr Ms Mr Ms Ms Ms Zdenka Kuncic, University of Sydney Ariane LanГon, Observatoire de Strasbourg Cornelia Lang, University of Massachusetts Jianke Li, Dept Education, Training & Youth Affairs Chris Lidman, European Southern Observatory Lucile Martin, Universite de Paris Shinki Oyabu, University of Tokyo Oak-Kyoung Park, Lawrence Livermore, USA Maria Pereira, University of Cambridge Isabel Perez, University of Chile

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RSAA Annual Report 2001 Mr Ian Price Ms Heike Richter, Inst. for Astron. & Astrophys,Berlin Ms Hyun-Ah Ryu, Chungnam Natl. University, S. Korea Ms Maria Elena Salvo, Padua University, Italy Dr Gary Schmidt, University of Arizona Dr Maartje Sevenster Dr Bob Shobbrook, Coonabarabran Dr Piet van der Kruit, Kapteyn Astronomical Institute Prof Jasper Wall, Oxford University Postgraduate Students Alexey Avakyan, BSc, Moscow Michelle Buxton, BSc, Tas. Matthew Coleman, BSc Catherine Drake, BSc, Monash Scott Edwards, BSc Brent Groves, BSc, Monash Sebastian Gurovich, BSc, UWS (Nepean) Craig Harrison, BSc, QUT, BSc, (Hons) Minh Huynh, BSc, UWA Lisa Kewley, BSc, Adel. (to July) Marc Metchnik, BSc Comp.Sci, BSc Math, U.Qld Rachel Moody, BSc Jess O'Brien, BSc, U.Melb. Encrico Olivier, BSc, MSc, Western Cape, S.Africa Paul Price, BSc, U.Qld Shobha Sankarankutty, BSc, MSc, UFRN, Brazil Holly Sims, BSc Laura Stanford, BSc, Flinders, BSc (Hons) Bradley Warren, BSc, Monash David Weldrake, BSc, (Hons) Herts Gregg Wilson, BSc S Sabine, BSc, Adel. (to March) V Ford, B App Sc. CCAE (from Sept) J Regan, Assoc. Dip. Lib. Studies, BA U.Canb. T Gallagher, BA Vanc. (from June) V O'Connor I Sharpe D Bourne M Miller M O'Dowd G Blackman F Aplin P Walshe H Coyle

Research Officers School Librarian Observatories Secretary ADMINISTRATION: Business Manager Assist.to Bus. Mgr. Operations Officer Purchasing Officer Purchasing Clerk and Publications Officer Site, Fire, Security Off. Personal Assistant Service Staff Gardener

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RSAA Annual Report 2001 MECHANICAL ENGINEERING Chief Engineer J Hart, BE (Mech) NSW DESIGN OFFICE Designers P Conroy, CME CTC D Stevanovic, BSc, PhD (from Oct)

MECHANICAL WORKSHOP Workshop Supervisor C Vest Instrument Makers J Bowman (from Dec) A Cappuccio R Commons (to Dec) J de Smet H Gebauer, CME R Miles R Tranter D Mitchell G Bloxham, DAP GIT

Laboratory Technician OPTICAL WORKSHOP Senior Technical Officer

COMPUTING LABORATORY Head P Young, BSc Programmers W Roberts, BSc M Jarnyk, BEng, MEng, PhD (from June) K Sebo, BSc WA, PhD J Smillie, BSc Qld (Jan-Sept) I Price, BSc Newcastle (to June) J Nielsen, BSc WA, BA Murdoch (from July) H Nyguen, BSc Griffith L Wilson, BSc UNSW (to Dec) M Buxton, BSc Tas (25%) L Kewley, BSc Adel (10% to July) G Wilson, BSc (25%) J van Harmelen, Drs Delft M Dawson, BEng MEng D Bishop, BEng (to May) M Downing, BAS MAS Melb. G Hovey, BSc, PhD M Jarnyk, BEng, MEng, PhD (to May) S Owens, BSc Macq, MSc Syd (Sept ­ Dec)

Student Programmers

ELECTRONICS Chief Engineer Engineer in Charge, MSO Electronics Engineers

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RSAA Annual Report 2001 Technical Officers J Atkin (Apr - Jul) A de Gans W Goydych, BSc Syd M Menzies, Ass Dip EE (Aug - Dec) S Trevethan (Aug - Dec) CENTRE V Ford, B App Sc. CCAE (to Sept) M Maloney M McGregor N Aked

MT STROMLO VISITORS' Exhibition Officer Retail Supervisor Marketing Officer Information Officer

SIDING SPRING OBSERVATORY STAFF ADMINISTRATION Site Officer Assistant Site Officer Operations Officer Research Officer Casual Staff TECHNICAL Engineer Technical Officers W Green T Houghton H Davenport R McNaught, BSc (Hons), St Andrews P Nguyen, P Anderson, K Fiegert M. Harris, BEEng, NSW M Callaway W Campbell, B App Sc, U Canb. J Goodyear, HND BEEng, Edin. M Kanonczuk D Shobbrook R Shobbrook, BSc, St Andrews, PhD M Noy V Mathews, S McWilliam, R Penny, L Ryder, DM

Casual Staff LODGE Lodge Supervisor Hospitality Staff Shobbrook SSO EXPLORATORY Supervisor Casual Staff

J Dicello-Houghton H Goodyear, D Hynds, M Verrender

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RSAA Annual Report 2001

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RSAA Annual Report 2001

SCIENTIFIC HIGHLIGHTS
Institute of Scientific Information Citation Laureates
In March, the Institute of Scientific Information (ISI) held its symposium "Honouring Excellence in Australian Research" at the Australian Academy of Science. The symposium celebrated the achievement of the 33 Australian based scientists whose research had been the most influential in research during the period 1981-1998. Six of these "ISI Citation Laureates" were RSAA staff members - a remarkable achievement for a School of some 21 academics - which attests to the excellence of the research being undertaken.

A montage of Institute of Scientific Information Citation Laureates. L ­ R: Prof. Jeremy Mould, Prof. Mike Dopita, Prof. Ken Freeman, Prof. Mike Bessell, Dr Bruce Peterson and Dr Matthew Colless

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RSAA Annual Report 2001 RSAA's laureates, and their areas of achievement, are: Prof. Michael Bessell, for analysis of the chemical compositions of stars, and the establishment of fundamental photometric systems. Dr. Matthew Colless, for the study of the large-scale structure of the Local Universe. His work in the 2dF Galaxy Redshift Survey has established that most of the mass of galaxies is unseen. Prof. Michael Dopita, a Fellow of the Australian Academy of Science, for fundamental contributions to the understanding of interstellar shocks, star formation and active galaxies. Prof. Ken Freeman, a Fellow of the Royal Society, a Fellow of the Australian Academy of Science and the inaugural holder of the Duffield Chair of Astrophysics at the RSAA, for studies of galactic dynamics and the gravitational microlensing by low-mass stars in our Galactic halo. Prof. Jeremy Mould, a Fellow of the Australian Academy of Science, former Director of the RSAA and current Director of the National Optical Astronomy Observatories in the USA, for leading an international team that used the Hubble Space Telescope to determine the age and expansion velocity of the Universe. Dr. Bruce Peterson, for studies of gas in the Early Universe, of galactic clustering, and gravitational microlensing by low-mass stars in our Galactic halo.

Federation Fellowship to Prof. Michael Dopita

Prof. Michael Dopita

In September, Prof. Michael Dopita was awarded a Federation Fellowship for research
into "The Epoch of Galaxy Formation". Prof. Dopita became a member of the School in 1975, and established himself as a world authority on the interstellar medium, star formation and active galaxies. During

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RSAA Annual Report 2001 that time he has played an active role in the teaching program of the School and has supervised some 15 PhD students. He has also played a major role in the development of the School's research program. The proposed Federation Fellowship research ensures Australian leadership in the theoretical modelling of the interstellar medium which dominates the physics of collapsing galaxies. The mystery of the formation of galaxies is one of the central problems of modern astrophysics. The epoch of galaxy formation, which occurred between one and six billion years after the Big Bang, was initiated by the collapse of overdense regions of matter, resulting in extraordinary bursts of star formation, rapid growth of massive nuclear black holes, and the rapid structural evolution of the early Universe. Until the last decade, this key epoch was largely inaccessible to observation - telescopes were simply too small, and instruments too insensitive to provide useful data in reasonable times. However, with 10m-class ground based telescopes, adaptive optics, sensitive detectors, and large space telescopes, great steps are now being made in our understanding. In the next decade, a new generation of large space telescopes for the infra-red (IR) and X-ray will come on line, new radio facilities such as the Square Kilometre Array will be built, and 30m or even 100m ultra-large telescopes are being designed. These will accumulate a huge volume of data on the epoch of galaxy formation. Theoretical interpretation should then allow us to answer the following key questions: · What are the star formation rates, both within individual galaxies and averaged per unit co-moving volume as a function of epoch? · How do the massive black holes formed at this time interact back on their host galaxies? · How is the gas chemically enriched, and how much is recycled to the intergalactic medium? · What is the role of dust physics in all of these processes? The central goal of the Fellowship program is to address these questions by developing techniques to theoretically model the fundamental processes involved, with an emphasis on understanding the dust physics and the hydrodynamical processes. This will lead to a prediction of emission line fluxes, emission line ratios, and the broadband spectral energy distributions from radio to X-ray frequencies which can be used to interpret the new observational material.

Gemini South Adaptive Optics Imager
RSAA was selected in 2001 to perform one of two Conceptual Design Studies funded by the Gemini Telescopes Consortium for the Gemini South Adaptive Optics Imager (GSAOI). This will be a near-infrared camera with an image scale commensurate with the diffraction limit at near-infrared wavelengths of the Gemini South 8 m telescope in Chile. GSAOI will be the workhorse instrument used with the Multi-Conjugate Adaptive Optics System being developed for Gemini South. The Conceptual Design Study will run from November 2001 to June 2002 and may lead to a construction

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RSAA Annual Report 2001

contract for the instrument. Parts of the instrument will be designed and
constructed at the Anglo-Australian Observatory if RSAA is selected for this work. Adaptive optics systems are being implemented on most large ground-based telescopes to correct the image "blur" caused by the Earth's atmosphere. A shortcoming of existing adaptive optics systems is that they fully correct images within only about 20 arcseconds of the reference object (either a natural guide star or an artificial laser guide star formed in the upper atmosphere). Multi-Conjugate Adaptive Optics Systems will use multiple natural guide stars, laser guide stars, and deformable mirrors conjugated to different heights in the atmosphere to correct images over larger areas. In the case of Gemini South, it is expected that diffraction-limited images will be obtained over regions approximately 80 arcseconds on size. This relatively wide-field adaptive optics correction means that new science programs will be addressed. These range from studies of faint low mass stars and brown dwarfs in nearby star forming regions through studies of individual stars in nearby external galaxies to studies of colour gradients in distant field and cluster galaxies at high redshifts.

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RSAA Annual Report 2001

OTHER HIGHLIGHTS
Dunk Island Conference
In August, RSAA supported a conference entitled "The Dynamics, Structure and History of Galaxies". This conference, held in the convivial surroundings of Dunk Island in northern Queensland in late July, was a celebration of the achievements of Duffield Professor of Astronomy Ken Freeman in his 60th year. Over 50 astronomers from across the globe attended, including many of Ken's long term collaborators. Particularly pleasing was the fact that sixteen of Ken's current and former graduate students were able to attend, with many of them giving invited papers. The conference focussed on the areas of Astronomy and Astrophysics to which Ken has made a number of outstanding contributions. The sessions were held in the mornings and the late afternoons so that participants could enjoy their surroundings while still taking part in a full program of presentations and discussions. The proceedings will be published in 2002 by the Astronomical Society of the Pacific as part of their conference volumes series.

Ken with some of his former and present students. From left to right: Peter Quinn, Stefanie Cote, Heather Morrison, Mun-Suk Chun, Isabel Perez, Greg Wilson, Jayanne English, Elaine Sadler, Martin Bureau, Gary Da Costa, Mary Putman, Sebastian Gurovich, Garth Illingworth, Claude Carignan, Yong-Ik Byun, Sylvie Beaulieu.

Fourth Stromlo Symposium
The Fourth Stromlo Symposium, aka IAU Symposium #209; Planetary Nebulae: Their Evolution and Role in the Universe, was held in Canberra in the Shine Dome of the Australian Academy of Science, 19-23 November 2001. Apart from support from the RSAA and the IAU the conference was supported financially by the ATNF, the AAO, Monash University and the government of the ACT. The conference was formally

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RSAA Annual Report 2001 opened by the ANU Vice-Chancellor, Prof. Ian Chubb. The attendance was very pleasing. Despite the events of September 11 being so close in time, out of 187 registrants we still had 156 attendees representing some 28 countries. There were a total of 45 talks given, and 173 poster papers. In addition to a very lively scientific conference, the social program was a great success. The "traditional" Stromlo Symposium wine-tasting crammed 107 people into the Red Belly Black CafИ ­ a new record, and was ably conducted by our local Chevaliers du Vin, Brian Schmidt and Mike Dopita. In addition, there were outings to Tidbinbilla nature reserve, horse riding and high tea at Bungendore, and a conference dinner given in the great hall of University House. A brief report on some of the scientific highlights of the conference: Through new surveys, large numbers of new PNe are being discovered not only in our galaxy (such as the southern H survey of Parker et al.), but also in external galaxies, which provides a rapidly growing field of research. The surveys of extragalactic PNe made possible in large part by new large telescopes and specialised instruments, are leading to an understanding of dynamics and stellar evolution in external galaxies. In particular, it is clear that the distribution of the PNe is a great way to trace the distribution of luminous matter down to surface brightnesses that would be impossible to observe directly. Such studies are revealing, for example a whole population of intra-cluster PNe in Virgo. Spectroscopic studies of extragalactic PNe beyond the local group are just beginning using the new instruments coming on line on 10m- class telescopes. In our own galaxy, the problem of the distance scale remains. Regrettably, the progress reported in this area at the conference was rather small. As far as impact of stellar evolution modelling on PNe precursor stars and PNe evolution was concerned, it is clear that a great deal of progress has been made. The theoretical models have become very sophisticated, and both need to and do incorporate new opacities, nuclear reaction rates, convection throry, dredge-up and mixing, binary evolution and mass-exchange, pulsation theory and mass-loss theory. In the PNe evolution itself, both pure hydrodynamic and magneto-hydrodynamic models have been produced. To explain the rich phemenology of the shaping of PNe, it now seems likely that a combination of binary evolution, stellar rotation and magneto-hydrodynamical modelling is required. The full non-LTE treatment of the PNe stellar atmospheres has become very sophisticated, and in some well-observed cases the agreement between theory and observation is very impressive. We can therefore be much more confident in the predictions of the EUV spectrum, required in photoionisation modelling of the PNe shell. For these shells, photoionisation modelling has now been coupled to stellar evolution models to provide dynamical modelling, although much work still remains to be done here. A major advance is that the new X-ray data obtained with Chandra and XMM has at last confirmed the two-wind model put forward many years ago by Kwok.

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RSAA Annual Report 2001 Nebular abundance determinations still provide lively debate. We are finally obtaining reliable abundances from the far-IR lines observed by ISO. A lively debate on the difference between abundances derived from forbidden lines, or from recombination lines in the optical looks likely to be resolved as a consequence of the existence of dense, metal rich, low temperature knots of material in the PNe shell. However, we have little idea how such knots might have formed. Perhaps the highlight of the conference was the progress reported on astro-mineralogy, enabled by the IR signatures reported using ISO. An amazing variety of grain species has now been detected. These include crystalline silicates, amorphous silicates, organic carbon grains of both aliphatic and aromatic forms, as well as material approaching that of anthracite in its composition. There is evidence for surface-hydrogenated nanodiamonds, water ice, carbides (SiC, MgC, TiC), sulphides (FeS, MgS, SiS2,) and even carbonates (CaCO3, CaMg(CO3)2). This last material is a complete mystery, since such minerals form normally only in the presence of liquid water..

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RSAA Annual Report 2001

PUBLIC OUTREACH
Mount Stromlo Observatory Visitors' Centre

Students observing sunspots in the Mount Stromlo Observatory Visitors' Centre Sun Room. The realtime image of the sun is reflected from a heliograph. A rainbow of the Sun's full spectrum of colours is also displayed on the wall. Mount Stromlo Observatory Visitors' Centre (MSOVC) continued throughout 2001 to develop its profile as an important `second tier' regional attraction (as distinct from the well-known `Big Ten' located in or near the national triangle). The Centre was restructured in September 2001, with three full-time staff and 25 volunteer explainers coordinating the visitor programs, assisted by RSAA astronomers. Recreational visitors to the Mount Stromlo campus in 2001 numbered over 65,000. Local, interstate and international visitors and school groups toured the Observatory and participated in educational outreach programs, including night observing and special events linked to celestial occurrences such as the Leonids meteor shower in November. Schools outreach continued to grow in 2001, with 240 school groups, comprising 9200 primary and secondary students, visiting the Observatory. According to figures released by the Canberra Tourism and Events Corporation, this represented some 7.5

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RSAA Annual Report 2001 per cent of the total schools visiting the national capital during the year. The chief factors influencing schools' decisions to visit were educational merit, relevance to curriculum and cost-effectiveness. Open Day in April 2001 attracted an estimated 4,000 visitors, prefacing a successful National Science Week of workshops, talks and themed tours. Linkages with other major attractions such as the new National Museum of Australia also assisted in raising MSO Visitors' Centre public profile. Sponsorship revenue from the Adopt-a-Star Program grew substantially in 2001, contributing $73,600 towards the Centre's activities. All major stars have now been sponsored, and planning commenced for the next stage of the program, "Deep Space" stars of magnitudes greater than 6. Fundraising in 2001, including donations from corporate partners and philanthropic bodies, contributed a total of over $151,000 in support of the Centre's public astronomy outreach activities.

Siding Spring Observatory Visitors' Centre

An aerial view of Siding Spring Observatory in the Warrumbungle National Park, NSW Located at the site entrance, the Siding Spring Observatory Visitors' Centre continues to perform an important public relations and outreach role for all institutions based at SSO. The small number of committed staff are responsible for exhibition admissions, sale of refreshments and souvenirs and conducting tours for visitors. In 2001, 12,000 visitors paid to enter the exhibition and tour the site. Unlike the MSO Visitors' Centre, the SSO Visitors' Centre restricts its operations to day-time activities since all telescopes are used for observing purposes at night.

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RSAA Annual Report 2001

Year 10 Astronomy Summer School
Every year in December, Mt Stromlo Observatory hosts its Year 10 Summer School. A small group of keen students from around Australia is flown to Canberra to take part in the school. During the week, they carry out their own research projects using the giant 1.9m telescope (the third biggest in Australia). They mingle with professional astronomers, visit NASA's tracking station nearby, listen to talks and generally experience the life of research astronomers. The Summer School is sponsored by Perpetual Trustees. Participants came from every state in Australia: This year they were: Nathan Deutscher, Julia Leeson, Amie Milligan, Natalie Spillman, Kathryn Sutherland, Aliya Walifu, Tristan Webber and Braden Young.

Year 10, 2001 Astronomy Summer School students outside the Mt Stromlo 1.9m telescope

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RSAA Annual Report 2001

FROM THE DIRECTOR'S OFFICE
RSAA Directorship
In January 2001, Prof. Jeremy Mould resigned as Director RSAA, to become Director of the National Optical Astronomy Observatory in Tucson, Arizona. He had served as Director RSAA for seven years, during which Mount Stromlo & Siding Spring Observatories became the ANU's ninth Research School. He strengthened RSAA's ties with ANU's Faculties and other Australian Universities, and fostered Australia's becoming a partner in the International Gemini consortium to establish twin 8 metre optical telescopes in Hawaii and Chile. Prof. John Norris was appointed Interim Director of the School. Following an international search, the Directorship was offered to Prof. Penny Sackett of the Kapteyn Astronomical Institute, Rijksuniverseit Groningen, who accepted the position in February 2002. Prof. Sackett's areas of expertise include Galactic and extragalactic astronomy - from the search for extrasolar planets to the little-understood dark matter which comprises some 90% of individual galaxies. Prof. Sackett is expected to begin her Directorship in June 2002.

ARC Entry and Other Grant Successes
2001 saw the entry of RSAA's first cohort into the ARC grants scheme. It was also a busy and successful year for the School in its responses to the Federal Government's Major National Research Facilities program and its Systemic Infrastructure Initiative. As Interim Director I wish to acknowledge the drive and enthusiasm of the staff in their contributions to the success of these endeavours.

Major National Research Facilities Program
RSAA was part of a successful consortium which was granted $23.5M for the project `Gemini and SKA - Australia's Astronomy Future'. The specific aims of the project are to increase Australia's partnership in the International Gemini Partnership (twin 8 metre optical telescopes in Hawaii and Chile) from 5% to 10%, and to enhance Australia's existing radio-telescopes by demonstrating enabling technologies for the Square Kilometer Array. In the bid it is envisaged that RSAA will build an instrument for Gemini as part of the entry requirement.

Systemic Infrastructure Initiative
RSAA, in partnership with other Australian Universities, obtained funding of $5.6M to upgrade the facilities at ANU's Siding Spring Observatory. The project will improve existing facilities, construct new instrumentation, and automate both ANU and UNSW telescopes to allow them to be operated remotely. The aim is to provide telescope control centres to participating universities to expand their access to these facilities, enhance their student training, and optimise their research outcomes.

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ARC Discovery and Linkage Grants
The School achieved a 60% success rate on its ARC Discovery proposals, and was able to obtain support from the ARC Linkage programs. Discovery: Projects MM Colless The 6dF Galaxy Survey, MA Dopita/ Interstellar Physics at the Epoch of Galaxy Formation R Sutherland BP Schmidt Taking Measure of the Universe with Exploding Stars Linkage: Infrastructure* (* RSAA not administering institution) RSAA, ANU Australian Membership of Gemini GV Bicknell CANGAROO III Gamma-ray Telescope Linkage: Infrastructure BP Schmidt A Renewed Great Melbourne Telescope Linkage International MS Bessell Discovering the First Stars $279k $400k $232k $1602k $220k $210k $70k

National Facilities
Number of Nights Allocated for External and Collaborative Use on RSAA Telescopes During 2001 2.3m 74" 40" 24" Overseas users 22 167 UNS universities AAO/CSIRO 6 Other Total nights 229 109 30 5 261 99 4 56 41 23 269 97 7 46 74 11 84 27 19

The first entry of each pair is the number of nights allocated entirely for external use; the second is the number of nights allocated for collaborative projects involving RSAA and external researchers.
AAO = Anglo-Australian Observatory. The 24" is scheduled less regularly than the larger telescopes.

Personnel Information
Dr Maartje Sevenster left RSAA to return to the Netherlands. Dr Eon-Chang Sung from the Korea Astronomy Observatory, and Dr Roberto Saglia from the Munich Observatory, joined us as IREX Fellows. Dr Simon Driver from St Andrews, and Dr Roberto De Propris, from the University of New South Wales, joined the research staff.

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RSAA Annual Report 2001

Sources of Revenue
Source of revenue IAS block grant External funds Ancillary activities 1999 $000 5210 806 1027 2000 $000 5273 2788 967 2001 $000 5507 2405 988

Gender Equity Performance
The overall gender profile of the School has remained essentially unchanged from that in 2000. The numbers of men and women have each decreased by one. On a timescale of five years the following changes have occurred.