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Python in Astronomy Conference 2019 at STScI

Proposers:

Erik Tollerud, Steve Crawford, Josh Peek, Iva Momcheva

Preferred dates (optional), with comments

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The workshop is typically held the first week of May but there is some flexibilityflexibility. SMO has indicated it shouldn't be too close to the symposium, and the SOC chair has indicated SMO-suggested dates in July/August should be fine.

Presentation slides

Q & A:

• Q: How will you balance the needs of the locals with the needs of the external community for this conference?
  • A: The conference participants are selected using an algorithm ("entrofy" - the same one used for .Astronomy this year), which allows explicitly selecting a certain fraction of locals, while still balancing diversity in other criteria like gender or seniority.  This allows us to explicitly ensure it's a large enough fraction that STScI benefits while not so large that it turns into an all-STScI event.
• Q: Will the fact that the series has an external SOC make it not pay attention to the needs of STScI?
  • A: The existing SOC chair is aware that we have special requirements/expectations.  It shouldn't be thought of strictly as "Science" and "Local" - the SOC is more the "external" group.  They understand that we expect certain things in return for hosting, and it'll be the "LOC"'s job to communicate those things - sort of the "benefit" of an SOC without all the work... 
• Q: Is the "normally 5 days" a problem?
  • A: SMO says this is negotiable, dependent mainly on exactly which week (and the availability of SMO staff)
• Q: Will we be able to "try again" next year since it's a series?
  • A: Probably not for several years - the conference tries to spread itself out geographically, so it may not be back to the East Coast of the US for several years.

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Enabling Multi-Messenger Astrophysics in the Big Data Era

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