OIR Participation in Past International Conferences
2024
XXXII International Astronomical Union General Assembly (IAUGA 2024), Cape Town, South Africa, Hybrid Meeting
The 32nd IAU General Assembly was held in Cape Town, South Africa, from August 6th to 15th, 2024. This IAU General Assembly was the first to be held on African soil, attracting 2648 participants from 107 countries and regions, including neighboring countries. Among the participants, 2045 attended in person, while 603 joined online. Many of the participants were students, making up one-fourth of the total.
At the National Astronomical Observatory of Japan (NAOJ) booth, we showcased the “Subaru Telescope 2.0”, utilizing next-generation observational equipment, to seek international collaborative partners. We also introduced various NAOJ research activities and presented information on the invitational programs for foreign researchers and students. During the event, a “School Visit” was organized for two days, with local high school students visiting our booth and listening attentively to our explanations. The booth concluded in success , drawing 954 visitors, which was nearly half of all participants.
243rd Meeting, American Astronomical Society, New Orleans, U.S.A.
The 243rd Meeting of the American Astronomical Society was held in New Orleans from January 7th to 11th this year. As the first exclusively in-person event (without virtual attendance) in a while, it drew the participation of nearly 3,400 students and researchers. At the National Astronomical Observatory of Japan (NAOJ) booth, the Subaru Telescope was featured as a centerpiece, attracting an attendance of around 630 individuals, exceeding the typical numbers.
Visitors were informed about the diverse activities of NAOJ, including various telescopes, projects, and centers. Explanations were also provided about our invitation programs targeting international researchers and students. Additionally, a 3D virtual tour of the Subaru Telescope was conducted, bringing enjoyment to many attendees. On the third day of the event, as part of the public outreach program, local high school students enjoyed light experiments using a spectrum card with a diffraction grating sheet. The experiments introduced how the Prime Focus Spectrograph (PFS) works, a wide-field multi-object spectrograph that is being installed on the Subaru telescope.
To provide detailed information about the Graduate University for Advanced Studies, SOKENDAI, staff from the graduate school also participated as exhibitors. In order to enhance the effectiveness of SOKENDAI's public relations activities, investigations were conducted into student recruitment methods, financial support, and educational environments in graduate schools in the United States.
2023
2023 Asia-Pacific Regional IAU Meeting (APRIM 2023), Koriyama City, Fukushima Prefecture, Hybrid Event
The triennial Asia-Pacific Regional IAU Meeting (APRIM) was held at the Big Palette Fukushima (Koriyama City) from August 7 to 11, 2023 (APRIM 2023). NAOJ secured a spacious exhibition area as a Diamond Sponsor and used this unique opportunity to showcase the Subaru Telescope, TMT Project, ALMA Telescope, and a section featuring NAOJ as a whole.
During this meeting, we noticed that many of the visitors at our booth were students, graduate students, and post-doctoral foreign researchers who already knew about NAOJ. This came as no surprise, as we had expected that attendees of international conferences held in the Asia-Pacific region would have better knowledge of NAOJ than those held in other parts of the world. First-time and seasoned visitors alike were welcomed at our booth, where we introduced the research activities of each project and gave specific explanations of their facilities by displaying motorized models of the ALMA telescope and TMT and by setting up VR experience stands where visitors could take a virtual tour of the Subaru Telescope using VR headsets.
In addition, the booth staff explained in detail the various career opportunities, such as the NAOJ Fellowship Program and the doctoral education program at The Graduate University for Advanced Studies (SOKENDAI), in which NAOJ participates as one of the core institutions. The Subaru Telescope/TMT/ALMA Telescope file folders (set of three), newly produced for APRIM 2023, were also well received, attracting more than 320 visitors during the meeting.
241st Meeting, American Astronomical Society (AAS 2023), Seattle, U.S.A., Hybrid Exhibition
The NAOJ booth was exhibited at the American Astronomical Society (AAS) Winter Meeting, the first hybrid meeting, including face-to-face meetings in four years. The number of participants at the meeting was almost back to the pre-pandemic level of about 3,100 in-person and 350 virtual attendees. Approximately 600 participants visited the NAOJ booth. Amongst them, many were undergraduate and graduate students who had familiar feelings toward Japan. In addition to exhibits on the research activities of each project, they enjoyed the 3D Virtual Tour of the Subaru Telescope using goggles. The OIR engaged in various recruitment and promotional activities, such as providing information on NAOJ Invitational Programs and the support available for international researchers living in Japan, introducing the English version of “The Handbook of Scientific Tables,” and publicizing the "2023 Asia-Pacific Regional International Astronomical Union (IAU) Meeting (APRIM2023)" to be held in Koriyama, Japan this summer.
Subaru Telescope 3D Virtual Tour
2022
XXXIst General Assembly of the International Astronomical Union (IAUGA 2022), Busan, Korea, Hybrid Meeting
The International Astronomical Union General Assembly (IAUGA 2022) in Busan, Korea, was postponed for one year due to COVID-19. Contrary to expectations that only a small number of participants would visit the site, about 1,500 of the total 2,000 participants attended the meeting in person. The NAOJ exhibition booth promoted NAOJ's research activities, including the Subaru Telescope (Subaru Telescope 2.0) and the Hyper Suprime-Cam (HSC), and provided recruiting information mainly for young researchers. The exhibition booth attracted approximately 750 attendees, who engaged in a lively dialogue with the exhibition staff.
2021
237th Meeting, American Astronomical Society (AAS 2021), Virtual Exhibition
In light of the COVID-19 pandemic, the 237th AAS Meeting (January 11-15, 2021) was held in an online format consisting of virtual exhibitions. The NAOJ virtual booth was kept active throughout the entire six-day period of the meeting, where we shared information about NAOJ and NAOJ’s invitational programs for international researchers and students. A total of 3,075 attendees were present at this virtual meeting, together with the 59 organizations (including NASA and NSF) who participated as virtual exhibitors.
2019
233rd Meeting, American Astronomical Society (AAS 2019), Seattle, U.S.A.
This was the second time we set up an exhibition booth at the AAS Meeting. This time, in addition to publicizing NAOJ’s activities and recruiting overseas researchers, we participated in the outreach program held on the third day. Through this program, we introduced the Prime Focus Spectrograph (PFS) of the Subaru Telescope to local junior/senior high school students by using custom-designed, spectrograph cards.
International Astronomical Union Symposium 358: Astronomy for Equity, Diversity and Inclusion ― a roadmap to action within the framework of the IAU centennial anniversary (IAUS 358), NAOJ, Mitaka Campus, Tokyo Japan
IAUS 358, the first IAU Symposium dedicated to “diversity and inclusion” to promote equality for minorities and persons with disabilities, was held in the Mitaka Campus, gathering 124 participants from 31 different countries. We supported the organization of this symposium as a core member of the Local Organizing Committee.
2018
231st Meeting, American Astronomical Society (AAS 2018), Washington D.C., U.S.A.
This was the first time we took part in the AAS Meeting as an exhibitor. Our booth was a huge success, where we attracted more than 200 visitors and handed out every single piece of our promotional materials, including brochures and leaflets introducing NAOJ’s recruitment programs and research projects.
2018 Communicating Astronomy with the Public (CAP 2018), Fukuoka City, Japan
The “Communicating Astronomy with the Public 2018” (CAP 2018) in Fukuoka City was the first CAP conference held in Japan. The newly constructed Fukuoka City Science Museum served as the venue for the conference and welcomed a total of 446 participants from 53 different countries. We supported the organization of this conference as a member of the Local Organizing Committee.
2018 XXXth General Assembly of International Astronomical Union (IAU GA 2018), Vienna, Austria
The IAU General Assembly (IAU GA) gathered more than 1,200 participants, and we were successful in distributing all materials that we had prepared for this event. A newly created photo panel (1.8-m width x 2.3-m height) featuring a dark matter map from a Hyper Suprime-Cam (HSC) survey was well-received, allowing us to better publicize NAOJ’s research activities such as the Subaru Telescope and HSC, and to effectively recruit young talents.
2017
East Asian Young Astronomers Meeting 2017 (EAYAM 2017), Ishigaki Island, Japan
The East Asian Young Astronomers Meeting 2017(EAYAM 2017) was held in Ishigaki Island. We supported the organization of this meeting as a member of the Local Organizing Committee.