2 nations' leading universities to collaborate in the stars

Public release date: 5-Dec-2011
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Contact: George Hunka
ghunka@aftau.org
212-742-9070
American Friends of Tel Aviv University

Tel Aviv University and Harvard University announce joint astrophysics initiative

Tel Aviv University and Harvard University have launched the new Raymond and Beverly Sackler HarvardTel Aviv Astronomy Initiative, a collaboration between the Department of Astrophysics at TAU's Raymond and Beverly Sackler School of Physics and Astronomy and the Institute for Theory and Computation (ITC) at the HarvardSmithsonian Center for Astrophysics.

Funded by renowned philanthropist Dr. Raymond Sackler, the program will support research across all areas of astrophysics. "This important new collaboration builds on the world-renowned research infrastructures at Harvard and TAU. It provides a framework for a mutually beneficial and productive collaboration between two of the world's great universities," says Prof. Amiel Sternberg, director of the program at TAU. The initiative includes not only joint projects among the faculty, but also student exchanges, a lecture series, and workshops held in Tel Aviv every two years.

As part of the new program, TAU will also be offering a prize post-doctoral position called the Sackler Prize Fellowship in Astrophysics, with shared time at both institutions, to support and promote the independent projects of outstanding young researchers.

"We are grateful to Dr. Sackler for establishing this program," says Prof. Avi Loeb, Director of the ITC and Chair of the Astronomy Department at Harvard, "and we look forward to building a productive relationship with TAU."

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The Department of Astronomy at TAU is internationally recognized as a leading research group. Two of its faculty members were recently awarded prestigious European Council Research grants of more than $2,000,000 each, to support the studies of the physics of cosmic explosions and searches for extrasolar planets. An Israel-Germany science partnership grant, $1,500,000 for astronomers at TAU and Max-Planck-Institute for Extraterrestrial Physics, supports observational and theoretical studies of galaxy formation and black hole growth in the early Universe.

American Friends of Tel Aviv University (http://www.aftau.org) supports Israel's leading, most comprehensive and most sought-after center of higher learning. Independently ranked 94th among the world's top universities for the impact of its research, TAU's innovations and discoveries are cited more often by the global scientific community than all but 10 other universities.

Internationally recognized for the scope and groundbreaking nature of its research and scholarship, Tel Aviv University consistently produces work with profound implications for the future.

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AAAS and EurekAlert! are not responsible for the accuracy of news releases posted to EurekAlert! by contributing institutions or for the use of any information through the EurekAlert! system.

Public release date: 5-Dec-2011
[ | E-mail | Share ]

Contact: George Hunka
ghunka@aftau.org
212-742-9070
American Friends of Tel Aviv University

Tel Aviv University and Harvard University announce joint astrophysics initiative

Tel Aviv University and Harvard University have launched the new Raymond and Beverly Sackler HarvardTel Aviv Astronomy Initiative, a collaboration between the Department of Astrophysics at TAU's Raymond and Beverly Sackler School of Physics and Astronomy and the Institute for Theory and Computation (ITC) at the HarvardSmithsonian Center for Astrophysics.

Funded by renowned philanthropist Dr. Raymond Sackler, the program will support research across all areas of astrophysics. "This important new collaboration builds on the world-renowned research infrastructures at Harvard and TAU. It provides a framework for a mutually beneficial and productive collaboration between two of the world's great universities," says Prof. Amiel Sternberg, director of the program at TAU. The initiative includes not only joint projects among the faculty, but also student exchanges, a lecture series, and workshops held in Tel Aviv every two years.

As part of the new program, TAU will also be offering a prize post-doctoral position called the Sackler Prize Fellowship in Astrophysics, with shared time at both institutions, to support and promote the independent projects of outstanding young researchers.

"We are grateful to Dr. Sackler for establishing this program," says Prof. Avi Loeb, Director of the ITC and Chair of the Astronomy Department at Harvard, "and we look forward to building a productive relationship with TAU."

###

The Department of Astronomy at TAU is internationally recognized as a leading research group. Two of its faculty members were recently awarded prestigious European Council Research grants of more than $2,000,000 each, to support the studies of the physics of cosmic explosions and searches for extrasolar planets. An Israel-Germany science partnership grant, $1,500,000 for astronomers at TAU and Max-Planck-Institute for Extraterrestrial Physics, supports observational and theoretical studies of galaxy formation and black hole growth in the early Universe.

American Friends of Tel Aviv University (http://www.aftau.org) supports Israel's leading, most comprehensive and most sought-after center of higher learning. Independently ranked 94th among the world's top universities for the impact of its research, TAU's innovations and discoveries are cited more often by the global scientific community than all but 10 other universities.

Internationally recognized for the scope and groundbreaking nature of its research and scholarship, Tel Aviv University consistently produces work with profound implications for the future.

---

[ | E-mail | Share ]

?

AAAS and EurekAlert! are not responsible for the accuracy of news releases posted to EurekAlert! by contributing institutions or for the use of any information through the EurekAlert! system.

Source: http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2011-12/afot-tnl120511.php

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Astronomers look to neighboring galaxy for star formation insight

An international team of astronomers has mapped in detail the star-birthing regions of the nearest star-forming galaxy to our own, a step toward understanding the conditions surrounding star creation. Led by University of Illinois astronomy professor Tony Wong, the researchers published their findings in the December issue of the Astrophysical Journal Supplement Series.

The Large Magellanic Cloud (LMC) is a popular galaxy among astronomers both for its nearness to our Milky Way and for the spectacular view it provides, a big-picture vista impossible to capture of our own galaxy.

"If you imagine a galaxy being a disc, the LMC is tilted almost face-on so we can look down on it, which gives us a very clear view of what's going on inside," Wong said.

Although astronomers have a working theory of how individual stars form, they know very little about what triggers the process or the environmental conditions that are optimal for star birth. Wong's team focused on areas called molecular clouds, which are dense patches of gas - primarily molecular hydrogen - where stars are born.

By studying these molecular clouds and their relationship to new stars in the galaxy, the team hopes to learn more about the metamorphosis of gas clouds into stars.

"When we study star formation, an important question is, what is the environment doing? How does the location of star formation reflect the conditions of that environment? There's no better place to study the wider environment than the LMC."

Using a 22-meter-diameter radio telescope in Australia, the astronomers mapped more than 100 molecular clouds in the LMC and estimated their sizes and masses, identifying regions with ample material for making stars. This seemingly simple task engendered a surprising find.

Conventional wisdom states that most of the molecular gas mass in a galaxy is apportioned to a few large clouds. However, Wong's team found many more low-mass clouds than they expected - so many, in fact, that a majority of the dense gas may be sprinkled across the galaxy in these small molecular clouds, rather than clumped together in a few large blobs.

"We thought that the big clouds hog most of the mass," Wong said, "but we found that in this galaxy, it appears that the playing field is more level. The low-mass clouds are quite numerous and they actually contribute a significant amount of the mass. This provides the first evidence that the common wisdom about molecular clouds may not apply here."

The large numbers of these relatively low-mass clouds means that star-forming conditions in the LMC may be relatively widespread and easy to achieve. The findings raise some interesting questions about why some galaxies stopped their star formation while others have continued it.

To better understand the connection between molecular clouds and star formation, the team compared their molecular cloud maps to maps of infrared radiation, which reveal where young stars are heating cosmic dust.

For the comparison, they exploited a carefully selected sample of newborn heavy stars compiled by U. of I. astronomy professor You-Hua Chu and resident scientist Robert Gruendl, who also were co-authors of the paper. These stars are so young that they are still deeply embedded in cocoons of gas and dust.

"It turns out that there's actually very nice correspondence between these young massive stars and molecular clouds," Wong said. "That's not entirely surprising, but it's reassuring. We assume that these stars have to form in molecular clouds, and it tells us that the molecular clouds do hang around long enough for us to see them associated with these massive young stars."

Wong hopes to continue to study the relationship between molecular clouds and star formation in greater detail. If researchers can determine the relative ages of young stars, they can correlate these against molecular clouds to figure out which clouds have star formation, how long the clouds live and what eventually leads to their destruction.

They also plan to use a newly constructed array of telescopes in Chile to see the cloud environment in higher resolution, pinpointing exactly where inside the molecular cloud star formation will occur.

"This study provides us with our most detailed view of an entire population of clouds in another galaxy," Wong said. "We can say with great confidence that these clouds are where the stars form, but we are still trying to figure out why they have the properties they do."

Source: http://www.spacedaily.com/reports/Astronomers_look_to_neighboring_galaxy_for_star_formation_insight_999.html

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Jewish Jobs: JFCS Hiring Full-Time "Editorial and Electronic ...

Jewish Family and Children?s Service of Minneapolis is hiring a Full-Time Editorial and Electronic Communications Specialist. Do you have what it takes?

Jewish Family and Children?s Service of Minneapolis is seeking a full-time Editorial and Electronic Communications Specialist. The purpose of this position is to serve as manager for electronic and key print materials in an effort to increase the community?s use and support of JFCS and communicate JFCS?s mission, programs, services and accomplishments.

Responsibilities include:

• Establishes and manages social media and electronic communications planning calendar, creating a process and consistent voice for social media postings. Implements social media best practices/policy.
• Works with the Communication Director to create and manage an editorial calendar for materials with large distribution, serving as project manager to keep materials on deadline.
• Project manager, writer and designer of Directions newsletter; project manager and writer for Endowment newsletter and Annual Report.
• Reviews key print and electronic communications before publication.
• Monitors and creates website copy and develops additional content (videos, photo albums, etc.) for program pages.

Job Requirements:

EDUCATION:??Bachelor?s degree in communications, public relations or related field.

EXPERIENCE:??Minimum of three years experience in public relations related position.

SKILLS:?Proficient in Adobe Creative Suite and be competent in use of Mac platform computer applications. Must be able to work with staff and vendors and to manage several projects at once. Must possess strong design and writing skills. Must be able to multitask and meet fixed deadlines. Knowledge of Jewish culture is preferred.

Benefits:

This position offers a competitive salary and benefits package.

How to apply:

Please submit cover letter and resume to Tammy Cohen, Director of Human Resources. Email HumanResources@jfcsmpls.org or fax to 952.593.1778. Please specify the position you are applying for. For more information on this position, see www.jfcsmpls.org.?AA/EEO

(Photo: bgottsab)

Filed Under: Jewish Jobs

Tags: featured, Jewish Family and Children's Service of Minneapolis, Jewish Jobs Minneapolis, Jewish Jobs MInnesota, Minnesota Marketing Job

Source: http://tcjewfolk.com/jewish-jobs-jfcs-editorial-electronic-communications-specialist/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=jewish-jobs-jfcs-editorial-electronic-communications-specialist

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"Hugo" named National Board of Review's best film of 2011 (Reuters)

NEW YORK (Reuters) ? "Hugo," Martin Scorsese's 3D drama about an orphan boy in 1930s Paris, was named best film of 2011 on Thursday by the National Board of Review, which also named Scorsese best director.

George Clooney won best actor for "The Descendants," while Tilda Swinton took the best actress prize for "We Need to Talk About Kevin," in which she plays a grieving mother struggling in the aftermath of her teenage son's school shooting spree.

" 'Hugo' is such a personal film by Martin Scorsese," said Annie Schulhof, NBR president in a statement. "It is a tribute to the early years of cinema that uses today's cutting edge technology to bring the audience into a completely unique and magical world," she said.

The somewhat surprising choice boosted the fortunes for "Hugo," the story of a boy living in a Paris train station who maintains the station's clocks, in the run-up to the Oscars, the film world's highest honors.

The group praised the film, which is based on the book "The Invention of Hugo Cabret" and won strong reviews, as "visually stunning and emotionally engaging."

Other early film awards announced in recent days have focused on a handful of movies including "The Artist," "The Descendants" and "Beginners."

Christopher Plummer won best supporting actor from the National Board of Review for his role as an elderly man coming out of the closet in "Beginners," while Shailene Woodley took the best supporting actress honor for "The Descendants," the story of a man trying to connect with his daughters while his wife is comatose following an accident.

The National Board of Review, a U.S.-based group of movie industry watchers and film professionals, gave its original screenplay award to Will Reiser for cancer comedy "50/50."

Alexander Payne won for adapted screenplay, along with Nat Faxon and Jim Rash, for "The Descendants."

The National Board of Review gave its best animated feature prize to "Rango," while "The Help" was named best ensemble.

The group was formed more than 100 years ago as a nonprofit organization dedicated to supporting movies as an art form and entertainment.

Each year the board also issues a list of top 10 movies, which this year included "The Artist," a black-and-white silent film about the advent of the talkies in Hollywood, and two other presumed Oscar contenders, director Terrence Malick's mystical period piece "The Tree of Life," which stars Brad Pitt, and "The Descendants."

Steven Spielberg's World War I drama "War Horse," Clint Eastwood's film about FBI director J. Edgar Hoover, "J. Edgar," and the Ryan Gosling thriller "Drive" also made the top 10.

"The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo," a remake of the hit Swedish crime film, "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2" and "The Ides of March" rounded out the list.

Absent from the list were some films that have been touted ahead of awards season, including "Take Shelter" and Lars von Trier's "Melancholia."

In other key categories, the National Board of Review gave its best documentary award to "Paradise Lost 3: Purgatory," and chose the Iranian film "A Separation" as best foreign language film.

English actress Felicity Jones was given the award for breakthrough performance for "Like Crazy," as was Rooney Mara for "The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo."

J.C. Chandler received the award for best debut director for "Margin Call" while "Pariah" and "Crime After Crime" were both honored with the Freedom of Expression award.

The Harry Potter franchise was cited for special achievement in filmmaking for the transition from book to film, while actor Michael Fassbender received the spotlight award for several films including "Shame" and "A Dangerous Method."

(Reporting by Chris Michaud; editing by Jill Serjeant)

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/movies/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20111201/en_nm/us_nationalboard_films

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FACT CHECK: GOP field flubs, big and small (AP)

GREENVILLE, S.C. ? Newt Gingrich didn't know when he would take office if he wins the presidency. Rick Perry got the voting age and the date of Election Day wrong. Herman Cain didn't realize the president does not sign amendments to the Constitution.

In ways large and small, Republican presidential hopefuls are proving on multiple occasions to be "factually challenged," as Gingrich rather haughtily described a rival, despite getting some things wrong himself.

Campaigns are long and tough, candidates are often tired and flubs happen. But they are adding up and at some point could give Republican voters pause as they look for the candidate best able to take on the highly polished ? though hardly factually infallible ? President Barack Obama.

In submitting to what is, in effect, America's toughest job interview, there may be only so much leeway in getting matters of current affairs and history plain wrong.

Frequent flubber Michele Bachmann's suggestion many months ago that the Revolutionary battles of Lexington and Concord took place in New Hampshire was an opening shot, of sorts, in a volley of misfires by the candidates. Those battles were fought in Massachusetts in 1775.

And on Wednesday, she offered another: She would support the United States shutting down its embassy in Tehran ? but there is no U.S. Embassy in Iran's capital.

Never mind the facts, her top spokeswoman said. "Congresswoman Bachmann is a member of the House Select Committee on Intelligence and is fully aware that we do not have an embassy in Iran and have not had one since 1980," Alice Stewart said in a statement.

It's the latest but hardly the worst.

Cain promoted Chile's retirement system as one that gives workers the option of having private accounts, when in fact they have no choice. Mitt Romney accused Obama of "peacetime spending binges" as if there were no wars going on. Bachmann accused Obama of canceling a Canadian pipeline project that has only been delayed.

On Wednesday, Gingrich told voters packed into Tommy's Country Ham House in Greenville, S.C., that he would sign legislation repealing health care and Wall Street overhauls when he takes office on Jan. 21, 2013.

"My intent will be to ask the new Congress to stay in session when they are sworn in on Jan. 3 and to pass ? and hold at the desk until I'm sworn in on the 21st ? to pass the repeal of Obamacare and the repeal of Dodd-Frank and the repeal of Sarbanes-Oxley so that I can sign them on the 21st," Gingrich told the packed restaurant.

One problem: the Constitution that Gingrich constantly cites during his presidential campaign says the transition of power after an election takes place on Jan. 20.

Gingrich spokesman R.C. Hammond said Gingrich would assume powers at noon on Jan. 20, 2013, following the 20th Amendment of the Constitution. Because that day is a Sunday, the Inauguration's festivities would be scheduled on Jan. 21 of that year. Ronald Reagan followed a similar schedule for his second inaugural on Monday, Jan. 21, 1985.

Even so, Gingrich was wrong to say "I'm sworn in on the 21st."

A day earlier, Texas Gov. Rick Perry suggested the voting age is 21 and got the date wrong for Election Day.

"Those of you that will be 21 by November the 12th, I ask for your support and your vote," he told students at Saint Anselm College in New Hampshire.

The voting age is 18. And New Hampshire is scheduled to be the first state in the nation to host a Republican presidential primary on Jan. 10; the general election is scheduled for Nov. 6, 2012.

And Cain said he would back an amendment to the Constitution to ban abortion.

"If we can get the necessary support and it comes to my desk, I'll sign it," he told the Christian Broadcasting Network.

Except presidents don't sign amendments. Congress passes them and the states ratify them. The president could champion them, but the Constitution doesn't give him or her any formal role.

Since the campaign's start, each candidate has had a turn explaining errors as either the side effects of an exhausting schedule or simple foot-in-mouth syndrome. Under the intense media scrutiny, each misstep or error draws questions whether each candidate is up for the job.

Romney, too, stepped in it. The former Massachusetts governor said Obama engaged in "one of the biggest peacetime spending binges in American history." He overlooked the United States' role in conflicts in Iraq, Afghanistan and Libya.

Yet not all errors are created equal, said Eric Dezenhall, an aide in the Reagan administration and now an image consultant who has worked with everyone from Hollywood stars to business moguls.

"The key factor in whether a gaffe catches on is whether or not it validates a pre-existing prejudice," he said.

"When Perry says that the voting age is 21, it validates the pre-existing suspicion that he's not in command of the basics," he said. "When Newt or Obama say something that is either misguided or incorrect, it doesn't resonate because everybody knows they are smart guys, so they get a break."

And it's not as if Obama hasn't had his doozies. For instance, Obama said during the 2008 campaign that he had visited 57 states. The United States only has 50.

"The flubs that stick are those that fit with a storyline about the candidate," said Doug Hattaway, a Democratic consultant who helped Hillary Rodham Clinton's 2008 presidential bid. "Gingrich isn't a flubber. He's known for being full of himself and making wacky statements, not flubbing the facts. So the misstatements are less likely to stick to him."

And voters might not care about factual details, Hattaway said.

"Best case of that is George W. Bush, who couldn't pass a civics quiz to save his life. Emotional intelligence is more important in politics than factual knowledge," Hattaway said.

Gingrich might be playing that to his own political advantage.

Before he seemed to reschedule the constitutional transition of power, he criticized Bachmann for stretching the facts about his record on abortion.

"Some people are just factually challenged and it's unfortunate," Gingrich told reporters. "In the eyes of a teacher, occasionally I'd have a student who couldn't figure out where things were, or what things were, or what the right date was. When that happens, you feel sorry that they're so factually challenged."

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/politics/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20111201/ap_on_el_pr/us_candidate_flubs

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The Bong Show

The latest additions to Discovery?s roster of renegade workplaces deliver the same takeaway. Weed Wars, which debuts Thursday at 10 p.m. ET, and Moonshiners, which launches next Tuesday, Dec. 6, at 10 p.m. ET, both focus on strange people working hard in dubious professions. Weed Wars tells the story of Harborside Health Center in Oakland, Calif., the world?s largest medical cannabis dispensary, which boasts an executive named Dave Wedding Dress. Moonshiners follows a Virginian named Tim, who, with the help of his good friend Tickle, works to preserve the family tradition of brewing illegal hooch.

Source: http://feeds.slate.com/click.phdo?i=8f492682c9d9b3fe67b1d6bd7f29fa1d

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Kindle Fire gets first taste of CM7, needs work on its hand-eye coordination

Well, with source code and root firmly in hand, it was only a matter of time before someone got a custom ROM up and running on the Fire. Of course, the first contestant for your hacked Kindle dollar is the reliable, and damn-near ubiquitous CM7. XDA Developers Forum member JackpotClavin posted a pair of images showing the Gingerbread-based ROM booted up on his 7-inch Amazon tablet. He isn't offering the code for download yet, primarily because there are still a host of bugs to work out -- including a severely mixed up touch panel thats about 90-degrees out of sync with actual display. On the plus side, it does appear that WiFi is working. We suppose if you're impatient you can join the frothing masses begging Clavin to release the code, but we'll be waiting for something a little more polished before risking our shiny new slate. One more pic after the break.

[Thanks, Matthias]

Continue reading Kindle Fire gets first taste of CM7, needs work on its hand-eye coordination

Kindle Fire gets first taste of CM7, needs work on its hand-eye coordination originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 29 Nov 2011 17:14:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Source: http://www.engadget.com/2011/11/29/kindle-fire-gets-first-taste-of-cm7-needs-work-on-its-hand-eye/

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