inauguration PROGRAM

Location: ROOM L3+L6 (1st Floor)

10 – 12 am | Audience: GA Participants / Austrian Organizations

MC: Lina Canas

10:00 | Cristina G. Reynaga Peña, Tecnológico de Monterrey, Campus Monterrey, Mexico (15 min.+5 min. Q&A)

Christina Reynaga will discuss about synergies and how astronomy and other sciences can collaborate to foster inclusion.

10:30 | Garry Foran (15 min.+ 5 min. Q&A)

Garry Foran will discuss his sonification research: "Starsound: Data sonification to enhance, validate, and accelerate discovery", how it has made possible for astronomy research to move forward.

11:00 |Panel on "Academic Journals and Accessibility" with the presence of Ralph Wijers and Greg Schwarz.

Ralph Wijers is professor of high-energy astrophysics at the University of Amsterdam and a Scientific Editor at Monthly Notices of the RAS, having served in this editorial role for the past 12 years.

Lunch | 11:45 am - 1 pm

1 pm - 3 pm | Audience: GA Participants Blind and Visually Impaired Students (ages 7-13) and General Visitors

MC: Beatriz Garcia

1:00 | Welcome, security remarks, describe the area. (10 min.)

1:10-1:25 | Marius Berge Eide (10 min.+ 5 min. Q&A)

Marius Berge Eide will discuss on how he is doing science -- why is it important, the motivation behind his career path, and how assistive technologies can support in research.

1:25-2:30 | Introduction to our "Inspiring Stars" (exhibitors will showcase their work LIVE)

1:25-1:30 | Erika Labbe W., Chile

1:35-1:40 | Jeffrey Cooke, Australia

A/Prof Jeff Cooke, Center for Astrophysics and Supercomputing and Centre of Excellence for Gravitational Wave Discovery at Swinburne University of Technology. Cooke's research includes fast transient detection, searches for fast radio burst and gravitational wave counterparts, high-redshift superluminous supernovae, galaxy evolution, and cosmic reionisation.

1:40-1:45 | Thomas Madura, USA

Dr. Thomas Madura, Assistant Professor of Physics and Astronomy at San Jose State University in Silicon Valley California, USA, will be showcasing a selection of 3D printed tactile astronomy models and associated activities for students with VI, including a tactile Hubble tuning fork diagram, a tactile H-R diagram, various 3D models of Eta Carinae, and a 3D model of the constellation Orion.

1:45-1:50 | Kathy DeGioia Eastwood, Northern Arizona University, USA

Visualization of complex ideas is particularly difficult for blind and Visually Impaired (VI) students. We are working on developing a tactile 3D Cartesian grid that can be made from inexpensive and easily available materials. There are many possible applications, but here we demonstrate one of the most difficult: the conversions between the Cartesian and Spherical coordinate systems.

Link to Resource here.

1:50-1:55 | Gerhard Jaworek, Germany

1:55-2:00 | Cassandra Runyon, USA

2:00-2:05 | Beatriz Garcia, Argentina

2:05-2:10 | Carol Christian, USA

2:10-2:15 | Henry Winter; Harvard-Smithsonian Centre for Astrophysics, USA

2:15-2:20 | Amelia Ortiz Gil, Universidad de Valencia, Spain

2:20-2:25 | Stefania Varano, INAF, Italy

Astronomer, Master in Science Communication, Specialization in Didactics and Pedagogy and PhD in “Science, Cognition and Technology”. Museum curator. National Institute for Astrophysics, Bologna, Italy.

2:25-2:30 | Allyson Bieryla, Harvard-Smithsonian Centre for Astrophysics, USA

Allyson Bieryla will discuss a tool for the blind and visually impaired that was developed at Harvard University. This tool converts light into different sounds based on the wavelength of light and also has the capability to be mounted on a telescope.

2:35-2:40 | Nikolaos Nerantzis, Greece

Physicist in Secondary Special Education

2:40 - 2:45 | Cristina Reynaga, Mexico

Educational researcher, her work focuses on inclusive science education and teacher development and will show three-dimensional tactile models incorporating technology to display auditory information, including an example of enhanced 3D printed prototypes.

2:55 | Explanation of layout of area and invitation to everyone to visit the exhibition.

3 pm - 5 pm | Audience: IAU GA participants & General Audience

MC: Christian Vogelauer

3:00-3:10 | Gerhard Jaworek, Germany (10 min.)

How can a blind person develop a love of astronomy without ever having seen a star? The graduate computer scientist at the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT), Gerhard Jaworek, is completely blind. Nevertheless, astronomy is his passion. He will describe how his curiosity in science were awakened in childhood, how he was able to conquer this world with his blindness and what opportunities astronomy offers for lived inclusion.

3:10-3:20 | Piero Benvenuti, IAU General Secretary (10 min.)

3:25-3:35 | Cassandra Runyon, USA (10min.)

As a pioneer in the field, Cassandra Runyon will give us a personal overview, looking back and looking forward, on what has this journey meant, the different projects she is involved with, and why she has continuously dedicated her life to inclusion in astronomy.

4:00-5:00 | Inclusive Stations Tour

Inclusive Stations | 9am - 5pm (All Day)

useful links

• Disability Language Style Guide for journalists, communication professionals and members of the general public who are seeking the appropriate and accurate language to use when writing or talking about people living with disabilities.