2015 PHISCC Workshop: HI Surveys Get Real March 16-18, 2015 Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey

Motivation

As the Square Kilometre Array (SKA) ramps up, its pathfinder instruments — facilities like Apertif, Arecibo, ASKAP, MeerKAT, and the VLA — are executing or preparing to undertake ambitious surveys of neutral atomic hydrogen (HI) in emission and absorption across a wide variety of environments and scales. Since 2009, the SKA Pathfinders HI Science Coordination Committee (PHISCC, pronounced "fisk") has been holding regular science meetings to share information about planning for these surveys and their common needs.

With several SKA pathfinders on the verge of launching the next generation of HI imaging surveys, we have reached a point where we can project a more realistic view of what they will see. Theoretical models are making increasingly specific predictions about what HI surveys will detect in different scenarios for galaxy evolution; meanwhile, current surveys are providing a first taste of the challenges and rewards of working with massive HI datasets. The 2015 PHISCC workshop will focus on the theoretical and practical dimensions of one question — "What will we really see with the pathfinder HI surveys?" — whose answers will inform the design and execution of HI and related surveys still farther into the future.

Confirmed invited speakers

Alyson Brooks	Theoretical predictions for galaxy disk growth
Claude Carignan	HI science with KAT-7
Bruce Elmegreen	Computing challenges in the SKA era
Sheila Kannappan	Lessons from the local universe on HI and galaxy evolution
Tom Oosterloo	How to design the surveys?
Paolo Serra	Results and lessons from ASKAP commissioning

Basic information

• Number of participants: no more than 150 (limited by venue size)
• Registration fee: $30 (plus $70 for optional workshop dinner)
• Ground transportation costs: $29 (round trip) for participants travelling through Newark Liberty International Airport; see details here.
• Lodging costs: $159 ($79.50 if sharing a room) plus tax per night; see details here.

Important dates

• December 5: abstract submission opens
• January 10: deadline for abstract submission
• January 26: SOC releases workshop program
• January 30: registration opens
• February 16: deadline for registration
• February 23: expiration of hotel room block
• March 16-18: PHISCC workshop
• March 19-20: additional splinter sessions for survey teams