IAU's 377th Symposium Marks a Milestone for Astronomy in Malaysia

The International Astronomical Union (IAU) has successfully concluded its 377th Symposium in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, from February 6th to 10th, 2023. In collaboration with Universiti Malaya and Planetarium Negara, the event marks the first time that Malaysia hosted an IAU conference and the first in Southeast Asia since 1990. 

The five-day symposium featured 78 distinguished speakers, 61 poster presentations and almost 200 attendees all over the world, making it the largest professional astronomy conference in Malaysia to date. The aim of the symposium was to bring together the international astronomical community and provide a setting for growth and collaboration. 

The event focused on the diagnostic power of JWST and ALMA data to understand the links between the Milky Way and the high-redshift universe. The symposium explored the period when disk galaxies were in a kinematically hotter state, with more frequent accretion and dissolution events, and primarily formed stars in massive clusters. The goal was to achieve a comprehensive understanding of the early star formation and structural assembly of the Milky Way and other disk galaxies. 

The conference also included Monsoon School – a student workshop – and a public event. Monsoon School took place at Universiti Malaya from January 31st to February 4th and provided local and international students with a practical introduction to astronomy and astrophysics. The public event, held on February 8th at the Faculty of Science, Universiti Malaya, featured talks by distinguished speakers, including the Director General of the East Asian Observatory (EAO), Dr. Paul Ho. Before the talk, Dr. Ho and UM researchers visited the Director General of the Malaysian Space Agency (MYSA), Tuan Haji Azlikamil Napiah to discuss plans of Malaysia’s participation in the EAO as a full partner. 

Currently, Malaysia is an observer member of the EAO and is actively doing research using the James Clerk Maxwell Telescope (JCMT), one of the EAO-operated telescopes. By becoming a full partner, Malaysia would not only obtain access to the telescopes, but also to technology and instruments which can be applied in various fields such as medical and remote sensing. 

The IAU’s 377th Symposium in Kuala Lumpur marks a significant milestone for the field of astronomy in Malaysia and Southeast Asia, while providing the international astronomical community with a valuable opportunity to share knowledge, expertise, and ideas.