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- Memorandum
of Understanding (Draft)
- Feedback:
pls leave comments/suggestions here
Welcome to the home page of the Theoretical Astrophysics Consortium.
As some of you already know, initiated by Prof. F. H. Shu, President of Tsinghua
University, Hsinchu Twain, Prof. D. C. Lin from UCSC and Prof. J.-S. Chen
from PKU, we are soliciting to establish a theoretical astrophysics consortium
in the Chinese mainland, Taiwan, and Hong Kong. The long-term goals of this
theoretical astrophysics initiative are
- to establish world-class theory centers,
- to promote the advancement of forefront observational
astronomy,
- firmly set root for astrophysics in the region
The following recent developments make such an initiative timely:
- the rapid economic growth & social stability
in the Chinese mainland,
- the increasing funding resources for fundamental
research in the region,
- the emergence of `new blood' with international reputation
and connections,
- the strong interests and desire for development in
astrophysics at several leading universities and institutes in the area.
We feel that this is an opportunity for those of us with a common interest
to make a difference in the development of theoretical astrophysics in the
greater China diaspora. We identify several areas where we can contribute
in the immediate future,
- to improve the research environment,
- to complement research strength, and
- to train students and postdocs.
With these objectives we held a meeting in Hong Kong during Dec 9-11, 2002.
This meeting was attended by nearly 40 theorists from the Chinese mainland,
Taiwan, Hong Kong, and the US. A large fraction of the participants are in
their 40's and most of them have spent more than 4 years in the West. Several
participants recently returned to China from tenured positions in Europe
and the US. The composition of the participants alone reflected a gratifying
transition from the state of theory in China a few years ago.
We had three days of frank, open, and often heated discussions. The participants
are clearly enthusiastic and passionate about the initiative even though
we have diverse opinions on how to proceed. Clearly, on the long run, we
must find ways to recruit world-class theorists to influential faculty positions.
These potential leaders can either be attracted from the West or be trained
locally. As many of you know, that recruitment from an international talent
pool is extremely competitive and training takes a long time. Despite the
limited supply of internationally competitive candidates, it is essential
to uphold the highest standards. Consequently, the build up of astrophysics
in the region will require hard work, persistence, and patience.
While there are genuine and enthusiastic calls for `accomplished' theorists
in the West to go the region for an extended period of time and to make a
difference as some have already done so, the personal situation and commitment
for many of us make such a move difficult despite our sincere desire to help.
During the meeting, we have identified several possible measures which we
can undertake and accomplish at least some of the immediate objectives of
the theoretical initiative. For example, we can use modern communication
devices
- to interact with our returned colleagues with the
objective of maintaining their exposure and contact with the West,
- to effectively utilize the human resources and mobilize
the strength of several different institutions through collaborative research,
and
- to jointly train graduate students and young researchers.
We have taken the following steps to accomplish such goals:
- to set up three topical research programs in
- cosmology and galaxy formation
- high energy astrophysics, and
- star and planet formation, structure, and evolution
- to establish forum for exchanging ideas such as colloquia,
workshops, conferences, summer schools, and annual meetings,
- to initiate hands-on graduate student training programs.
For further details, please consult the web pages of the individual programs.
If you are interested in joining the Consortium and are willing to help,
please contact us.
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