Want to build cool stuff for telescopes? August 11, 2010
Posted by sarah in: astronomy, me . 2commentsFor over three years now I’ve been working here in Leiden’s instrumentation group. My time here in Leiden is coming to an end – I’m sad to leave but such is the life of a postdoc, and I’m excited about new things ahead (more about that later). I’ve written here about my own work on a few occasions, here’s a few examples:
Future facilities: Coming quite close now actually
If my work sounds like fun to you, and you have a PhD and experience in working on instrumentation projects, why don’t you apply to join the group?
I’ve enjoyed my time in Leiden immensely, both from a personal and professional perspective. The Observatory sets a high standard to its staff and students, but is very open and inclusive with a great “can-do” attitude. So if you’re passionate about your science, it’s great place to push the limits of your skills and creativity. If you’re interested, check out the ad on the AAS register and apply!
Global Poetry System May 19, 2010
Posted by sarah in: me . 1 comment so far
Thanks to my good friend Mary in London, I’m taking part in an arts project organised by the South Bank Centre in London called Global Poetry System. Global Poetry System, or GPS, aims “to explore and map the poetry of the world”. On the project’s website you can upload poetry, and tag the location where you found it on a world map. This month, the project launched a new initiative called Analogue Adventures. The project organisers have sent out digital cameras to all corners of the world, asking recipients to snap a picture of whatever inspires them as “poetry” – graffiti, art, signs – and pass the camera on to another volunteer within 48 hours. By the 23rd of June, the camera should make their ways back to London, where the pictures can be developed, uploaded and mapped.
So the little camera made it across the Channel to the Netherlands.
Herschel looks into the Heart of Darkness May 10, 2010
Posted by sarah in: new astronomy . 1 comment so far
Star formation in Gould's Belt
Last week a big conference took place at the European Space Agency hub ESTEC, down the road in Noordwijk. The town was inundated with the lucky scientists who got to play with the first data from the new infrared space observatory Herschel and were finally allowed to talk about it to the rest of the world. And now that the conference is over, as expected, science from Herschel is everywhere!
Schiphol: Closed for business April 19, 2010
Posted by sarah in: pics, random . Add a commentClick formega-high-res version on Dumpert… It might be the last day of chemtrail-less skies, let’s enjoy the view.
Lucia cleared, Dutch justice shamed April 19, 2010
Posted by sarah in: politics . Add a commentQuick update from the frontlines of judicial excellence. As expected, nurse Lucia de Berk was cleared of all murder charges by the court of Arnhem on 14 April last week. The case has been extensively covered in the Dutch media, with some frank editorials, most of which are sadly hiding behind a paywall. The Haga Hospital, which owns the Juliana Children’s Hospital where Lucia worked at the time of her arrest, will pay her 45,000 euro in compensation for wrongfully firing her. While that’s a decent amount of money, given that the hospital’s own apparently shabby internal investigation led to her arrest in the first place, I think it’s a pretty measly gesture. The hospital’s own statement is very brief and terse.
Everyone’s been falling over each other to apologise to Lucia for this awful miscarriage of justice – Justice Minister Ernst Hirsch Ballin, Harm Brouwer, Chairman of the Public Prosecution – and apparently negotiations on what compensation she will receive from the government are ongoing.
As usual the best coverage comes from GeenStijl, the Netherlands’ answer to The Onion, who report that Lucia has signed up to star in Kafka: The Musical. If you know Dutch, go read.
