Successful ChETEC-INFRA Review Meeting in Brussels

On March 1st 2023, the ChETEC-INFRA project successfully passed its mid-term review, which was carried out in hybrid form at the Helmholtz Association’s office in Brussels.

Participants at the (hybrid) ChETEC-INFRA Review Meeting.

After an introduction by the project coordinator Daniel Bemmerer (HZDR), the meeting took off with two highlight presentations: Maria Bergemann (MPIA Heidelberg) reported on a new determination of solar elemental abundances, and Denise Piatti (INFN Padova) about a recent transnational access experiment at HZDR Felsenkeller.

The meeting included presentations by all the ChETEC-INFRA Executive Board members and addressed all the main areas of work of ChETEC-INFRA. Topics included transnational access provision (Konrad Schmidt, HZDR), JRA on abundances (Arūnas Kučinskas, Vilnius University), JRA on nucleosynthesis computing (Marco Pignatari, Konkoly Observatory Budapest), JRA on lab improvements (Marco La Cognata, INFN Laboratori Nazionali del Sud).

Dissemination, outreach, and innovation were addressed (Uta Bilow, TU Dresden), the connection between the nuclear astrophysics and planetary science communities (Maria Lugaro, Konkoly Observatory Budapest), comprehensive approaches to nuclear astrophysics (Jordi José, UPC Barcelona), gender and inclusiveness aspects (Sandrine Courtin, CNRS Strasbourg), and new data products from ChETEC-INFRA (Aldo Serenelli, CSIC Barcelona).

In the feedback session, both the external expert reviewer and the project officer expressed their great appreciation for the project and of all the work done and gave a very positive feedback. They asked the Executive Board to transmit this message to all people contributing to and using ChETEC-INFRA.

Celebrating a successful review meeting with traditional Belgian fries.

Online Event: Transnational Access and the Van-de-Graaff Accelerator at GUF (March 6)

Continuing our series on virtual events on Transnational Access, Monday March 6, at 16:00 CET, will feature a general overview of transnational access in ChETEC-INFRA, and a facility presentation of the Van-de-Graaff Accelerator at the Goethe-Universität Frankfurt.

The meeting will be held on Zoom (meeting link).

TA is open to researchers worldwide, providing access to accelerator laboratories, observatories, and a high-performance computing cluster for their scientific projects in Nuclear Astrophysics. – Without access costs to the user, and the possibility of travel support in the case of hands-on facilities.

More information on eligibility and how to apply for TNA is available here. Virtual office hours are held weekly on Zoom, available for informal inquiries around the Transnational Access program.

Online Event: Transnational Access and the Molėtai Astronomical Observatory (Jan. 30)

Continuing our series on virtual events on Transnational Access, next Monday – January 30, at 16:00 CET, will feature a general overview of transnational access in ChETEC-INFRA, and a facility presentation of the Molėtai Astronomical Observatory in Lithuania.

The meeting will be held on Zoom (meeting link).

The next collection date for Transnational Access (TA) proposals for the 13 ChETEC-INFRA Partner Facilities is February 17, 2023. TA is open to researchers worldwide, providing access to accelerator laboratories, observatories, and a high-performance computing cluster for their scientific projects in Nuclear Astrophysics. – Without access costs to the user, and the possibility of travel support in the case of hands-on facilities.

More information on eligibility and how to apply for TNA is available here. Virtual office hours are held weekly on Zoom, available for informal inquiries around the Transnational Access program.

18th Russbach School on Nuclear Astrophysics Open for Registration

The 2023 edition of the Russbach School on Nuclear Astrophysics will take place from March 12-18 (arrival-departure), 2023. The school will bring together specialists from astrophysics, astronomy, cosmochemistry and nuclear physics. Participants are highly encouraged to contribute to the program with presentations on their work.

More information can be found in the first circular for the school. Registrations are open until February 12.

30th Carpathian Summer School of Physics Announced for July 2023

The 30th edition of the Carpathian Summer School of Physics 2023 is scheduled to take place in Sinaia on July 2-15, 2023, as an in-person event.

The school on “Exotic Nuclei and Nuclear/Particle Astrophysics. Physics with small accelerators” will feature a combination of school-like and conference-like presentations, with longer invited lectures by senior scientists/professors and shorter student communications. The school is aimed at graduate students, post-docs and young or established researchers. Students from all countries are invited to attend. A limited number of stipends to cover the local expenses for students will be available.

Further Information can be found in the first circular of the school, or on the school website at https://cssp23.nipne.ro/.

The school is part of the ENNAS (European Network of Nuclear Astrophysics Schools), supported by ChETEC-INFRA, and recognized by the Division of Nuclear Physics of EPS.

Video Tutorial Online on Multi-Zone Post-Processing Code on HPC Clusters

Continuing the series on Stellar Nucleosynthesis Tools for HPC Clusters, a new video is now available. The tutorial on installing and running the program mppnp by the NuGrid collaboration in a cluster environment is available on the ChETEC-INFRA YouTube channel, as part of this play list (external link to youtube.com).

The video series is part of the resources provided to the nuclear astrophysics community through ChETEC-INFRA. An overview of the various resources is provided here.

Next Edition of SNAQs, Schools on Nuclear Astrophysics Questions, on December 7

As limitations for in-person conferences are slowly lifted and travel to conferences, meetings, schools, and workshops is more common again, the SNAQs organizing committee decided adjust the format and calendar for future editions of these Schools on Nuclear Astrophysics Questions.

The new schedule foresees four editions of SNAQs per year, with a duration of less than 90 minutes. The focus of SNAQs remains on the multidisciplinary (astronomy, astrophysics, nuclear physics) audience of students and senior scientists.

The first SNAQs with this new format will be held on December 7, 2022. This school features two presentations, and time for Q&A.

European Low-Level Laboratories convene for CELLAR Community Meeting

Underground physics laboratories in Europe have been a driving force for progress in various domains. This includes nuclear and particle physics as well as low-background detector technologies, which are crucial for experimental studies of weak nuclear processes, such as those which are driving stellar evolution.

The three-day CELLAR Community Meeting 2022 (starting November 28), aims to provide updates on recent developments in this field and help to better network the participants of this community. The meeting is hosted by HZDR, VKTA and TU Dresden, and supported by ChETEC-INFRA.

Call for Transnational Access Projects Open until November 17

The next collection date for Transnational Access (TNA) Projects to the 13 ChETEC-INFRA Partner Facilities is November 17, 2022. TNA is open to researchers worldwide, providing access to accelerator laboratories, observatories, or a high-performance computing cluster for their scientific projects in Nuclear Astrophysics. – Without access costs to the user, and the possibility of travel support in the case of hands-on facilities.

More information on eligibility and how to apply for TNA is available here. Virtual office hours are held weekly on Zoom, available to discuss questions around the Transnational Access program.

ChETEC-INFRA TNA Event on October 24: Transnational Access and the PTB Ion Accelerator Facility (PIAF)

On Monday, October 24, 2022 at 16:00 – 16:45 (Brussels time) the next edition of the „ChETEC-INFRA TNA event“ will take place on Zoom: Meeting Link.

After an introduction outlining TNA in ChETEC-INFRA, the PTB Ion Accelerator Facility in Braunschweig, Germany, will be presented, and combined with a virtual tour of the laboratory. The remaining session will be available for Q&A. The event will be recorded, slides and the recordings will be made available.

Questions and inquiries on Transnational Access can also be addressed during the drop-in Office Hours via Zoom.