[MODEST] Australian venue for MODEST-3

[Rosemary Mardling]

Dear imModest colleagues,

Piet and I would like to get started on the organization of
MODEST-3 to be held in Australia next year during the week (8-12 July)
preceding the IAU GA (13-26 July).

The Joint Discussion 11 ``Dynamics and Evolution of Dense Stellar Systems''
will be held on the Friday of the first week of the GA (you can view the
program at http://www.astronomy2003.com/).

At this stage, we have three options for a venue:

1) Several people expressed an interest in holding MODEST-3 in some 
salubrious
location where goggles and oxygen tanks are required; however this 
necessarily
would involve us finding large quantities of $$$s (albeit Australian)
beforehand to make such a meeting viable. This will only be possible if 
enough
people are willing to commit registration monies early enough for me to 
secure a
suitable venue.

2) Hold the meeting here at Monash (Melbourne) where office space, 
computers,
and meeting rooms are available for free (Melbourne is 1000 km south of
Sydney);

3) I am applying for funding from the Australian Academy of Science to
host a meeting in their facilities at the Australian National University
in Canberra (three hours drive from Sydney). The grant would be for up to
$10,000 and would also include the use of the AAS dome on the campus
(a strange spaceship-like building for which some architect no doubt won
an award). They prefer us to use this venue so it isn't an option to take
the money and run up to Queensland!

So I am soliciting opinions on where to hold MODEST-3. Could you email
*ME* at mardling at monash.edu.au to let me know which of the three options
above you prefer.

Thanks,
Rosemary