Announcing ADASS '96

Fri May 10 15:46:05 EDT 1996

                         6th Annual Conference on

              ASTRONOMICAL DATA ANALYSIS SOFTWARE AND SYSTEMS

                           22-25 September 1996

                         Charlottesville, VA  USA

            ADASS '96 home page:  http://www.cv.nrao.edu/adass

The 6th Annual Conference on Astronomical Data Analysis Software and
Systems (ADASS '96) will be hosted by the National Radio Astronomy
Observatory 22-25 September 1996.  The Conference will be held at the Omni
Charlottesville Hotel in Charlottesville, Virginia, USA.

The ADASS Conference series provides a forum for scientists and programmers
concerned with algorithms, software, and software systems employed in the
reduction and analysis of astronomical data.  The program will consist of a
series of invited talks on special topics, contributed talks, poster
papers, and software demonstrations.  In addition, two special sessions are
planned just before and after ADASS:  a JAVA tutorial/workshop the Sunday
before ADASS, and an IRAF Developer's Workshop the day following ADASS.
Several BOFs (Birds-of-a-Feather sessions) are also planned - these are
special sessions that last 1 1/2 - 2 hours in a format decided by the
organizer; some BOFs may run concurrently.

ADASS '96 is sponsored by the following organizations: Associated
Universities, Inc., European Southern Observatory, the Infrared Processing
and Analysis Center, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, the
National Center for Supercomputing Applications, the National Optical
Astronomy Observatories, the National Radio Astronomy Observatory, the
National Research Council of Canada, the National Science Foundation, the
Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory, the Space Telescope Science
Institute, Sun Microsystems, Inc., and the University of Virginia.

The ADASS Program Organizing Committee is comprised of the following
members:  Rudi Albrecht (ST-ECF/ESO), Roger Brissenden (SAO), Tim Cornwell
(NRAO), Dennis Crabtree (DAO/CADC), Bob Hanisch - Chair (STScI), Gareth
Hunt (NRAO), George Jacoby (NOAO), Barry Madore (IPAC), Jonathan McDowell
(SAO), Jan Noordam (NFRA), Dick Shaw (STScI), Karen Strom (U. Mass.), and
Doug Tody (NOAO).  The Local Organizing Committee (adass96 at nrao.edu)
includes:  Alan Batson (UVA), David Brown (NRAO), Gareth Hunt (NRAO), Pat
Murphy (NRAO), Robert O'Connell (UVA), Richard Simon - Chair (NRAO), Gene
Runion (NRAO), Charles Tolbert (UVA), Jeff Uphoff (NRAO), and Carolyn White
- secretary (NRAO).

The Special Topics for ADASS '96 are:

     o  Simulation and Numerical Modeling,

     o  Algorithms and Applications,

     o  Software Costs, Management, and Planning

At this time we have the following Invited Speakers (the final program will
be announced at a later date):

     o  Dr. Tim Cornwell (NRAO) - "Design and Implementation of Radio-
        Astronomical Calibration and Imaging in AIPS++"

     o  Dr. Gary Ferland (U. of Kentucky) - "Cloudy: Modeling the Emission
        From Astrophysical Nebulae"

     o  Harry Foxwell (Sun Microsystems, Inc.) - "Java Futures and
        Implications"

     o  Dr. Keith Horne (U. of St. Andrews) - "Astrotomography"

     o  Dr. Harvey Liszt (NRAO) - "A Home-Grown but Widely Distributed Data
        Analysis System"

     o  Dr. Michael Rosa (ST-ECF) - "Physical Modeling of Scientific
        Instruments"

     o  Dr. Martin Shepherd (Caltech) - "DIFMAP: An Interactive Program for
        Synthesis Imaging"

     o  Dr. Martin Weinberg (U. of Massachusetts) - "Modeling Galaxies"
        (tentative)

A few topics have been tentatively suggested for BOF sessions, including
the topics listed below.  Please contact hanisch at stsci.edu or
adass96 at nrao.edu if you have suggestions for a BOF topic, or would like to
organize a particular BOF yourself.

     o  IDL

     o  FITS

     o  AIPS

     o  etc.

Meeting information:

     o  Registration:  $130  before midnight 15 July
                       $180  after 15 July but before midnight 12 September

     o  Abstract/demo deadline:  midnight 15 July
        Abstract fee:            $40 due by midnight 15 July
        Demo fee:                $400 due by midnight 15 July

     o  Hotel accommodations:  deadline for guaranteed rates - 21 August
        Omni Charlottesville Hotel, Charlottesville, VA - +1-804-971-5500
        or toll free (North America) 1-800-843-6664 (1-800-THE-OMNI).
        $48.85/Night (single); $62.68/night (double), plus tax (the total
        rate for a single room will be approximately $53/night).

The Proceedings of the Conference are expected to be published as part of
the Astronomical Society of the Pacific Conference Series, as were those of
previous Conferences.

Limited funds are available to provide travel support and per diem expenses
to scientists, programmers, or students who will need financial assistance
in order to attend the Conference.  The deadline for Financial Assistance
applications is 17 June 1996.  Applications for financial assistance are
available from the Conference Web site (http://www.cv.nrao.edu/adass) or by
anonymous FTP from ftp.cv.nrao.edu in the file /pub/adass96/finaid.txt, or
by sending a request for these instructions to adass96 at nrao.edu.

A Preliminary Program for ADASS '96 will be posted to the Conference Web
site (http://www.cv.nrao.edu/adass/) in the next few days, and will be sent
(by postal mail) to our Conference mailing list in late May.  This
announcement will include a call for papers and instructions for submitting
abstracts, detailed registration and lodging information, and other general
information about the Conference program.  Our Conference Mailing List
consists of past Conference attendees and anyone that has asked to be on
the list - if you would like to have your name added to this list please
send your name, email address, and postal mailing address to
adass96 at nrao.edu.

Information about the Conference is available over the World Wide Web - see
the Conference home page at http://www.cv.nrao.edu/adass.  Materials are
also available by anonymous FTP from ftp.cv.nrao.edu in the directory
/pub/adass96.  Questions about the Conference and the Conference program
can be directed to adass96 at nrao.edu, or to Carolyn White, NRAO, 520
Edgemont Road, Charlottesville, Virginia, 22903-2475, USA (fax: +1-804-296-
0278).

Mark your calendar and plan to attend ADASS '96!