Click here to obtain a pdf file of the full-size poster.  Click on the image below to obtain the full-size group photo.


  Victoria, British Columbia

January 15-17, 2011

PDF files of the oral presentations can be retrieved from the Science Program page, as they are made avalable.  Abstracts of all talks and posters are also available from the links on the left side panel.  PDF files of the posters can be retrieved by clicking on the titles from the Poster Abstract page.


The North American ALMA Science Center (NAASC) and the Center for Chemistry of the Universe (CCU) will jointly host, with the assistance of the National Research Council of Canada, a major science conference entitled ALMA: Extending the Limits of Astrophysical Spectroscopy in Victoria, British Columbia, 15-17 January 2011. The venue is the Laurel Point Inn, located on the inner harbour of downtown Victoria.  To encourage a workshop atmosphere, registration will be limited to approximately 100 participants.  Registration will open (first to pre-registrants) in early September.

The capabilities of new Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA) instrumentation will be highlighted at this meeting via invited science talks in astronomy, astrophysics, and astrochemistry.

Over the next several years, the NRAO research facilities will provide the scientific community with unprecedented advances in high spatial resolution, broadband observing capabilities over frequency ranges that are sparsely covered by other facilities. ALMA will be capable of recording more than 8 GHz of instantaneous bandwidth at high spectral resolution and will routinely deliver high fidelity, high spatial resolution astronomical images. Spectroscopy is a vital tool to improve our understanding of the Universe, enabling scientists to probe physical and chemical environments, investigate kinematics and dynamics, and explore the high red-shift Universe while also obtaining abundances, concentrations, and temperatures of exotic molecular species.

In conjunction with the Spectroscopy conference, a one-day in-depth tutorial will be held on January 18, on the capabilities of ALMA during Early Science and how to use the Observing Tool for producing and submitting proposals for Early Science.

Specific focus areas for this science conference will include:
  • The Atomic Universe: Atomic Spectra as Probes of Cool Gas
  • The Molecular Universe: Dense Star-forming Gas
  • Isotopic Variety in the Interstellar Medium
  • Our Molecular Origins: Prebiotic Molecules

Confirmed Invited Speakers:
  • Darek Lis - Caltech
  • Christine Wilson - McMaster University
  • Ted Bergin - University of Michigan
  • Stefanie Milam - NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center
  • Michael Kaufman - San José State University
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Scientific Organizing Committee:
  • Gordon Stacey (Cornell), Chair
  • Al Wootten (NRAO), co-Chair
  • Gerald Schieven (NRC), co-Chair
  • Anthony Remijan (NRAO), co-Chair
  • Rachel Friesen (NRAO)
  • Doug Johnstone (NRC)
  • Deborah Padgett (JPL/IPAC)
  • Brooks Pate (University of Virginia)
  • J. Xavier Prochaska (UC Santa Cruz)
  • Hsien Shang (ASIAA)
  • Yancy Shirley (University of Arizona)
  • Jean Turner (UCLA)
  • Susanna Widicus Weaver (Emory University)
  • David Wilner (CfA)
 Local Organizing Committee:
  • Gerald Schieven, Chair (NRC)
  • James Di Francesco, co-Chair (NRC)
  • Rachel Friesen (NRAO)
  • Brenda Matthews (NRC)
  • Brenda Parrish (NRC)
  • Anthony Remijan (NRAO)
  • Scott Schnee (NRC)
 Page last updated 27 January 2011 by GHMS