Information for Students

The Seminar on Astronomy and Astrophysics (astro830) is a four-credit elective seminar in the Master of Astrophysics programme at the Argelander Institute for Astronomy,  University of Bonn. Students give a talk and answer relevant questions afterward. The seminar topics are based on recently published papers suggested by the supervisors. The possible papers will be introduced at the first Monday meeting. Interested students should then contact the respective advisor and express interest. We will assign papers and presentation dates based on logistic constraints and preferences of the advisors be the end of the following week. 

The Seminar on Astronomy and Astrophysics (astro830) is a four-credit elective seminar in the Master of Astrophysics programme at the Argelander Institute for Astronomy,  University of Bonn. Students give a talk and answer relevant questions afterward. The seminar topics are based on recently published papers suggested by the supervisors. The possible papers will be introduced at the first Monday meeting. Interested students should then contact the respective advisor and express interest. We will assign papers and presentation dates based on logistic constraints and preferences of the advisors be the end of the following week. 

TIME AND PLACE

Lecture Hall 0.012,  AIfA, Mondays, 14.00 to 15.15 when two papers are presented, 13:45 to 15:30 when three papers are presented.

SIGN-UP

Sign up for the university registration system! For participating in AstroSem, you must sign up for the exam of the seminar astro894 / astro830 in the "basis" registration system of the University. Look up registration and de-registration periods for lectures.

INTRODUCTORY SESSION

The AstroSem starts with an introductory session during which supervisors give short presentations of their papers. You should attend this session and contact two potential supervisors. If you miss the introductory session, you can still sign up. Simply contact the supervisors of your choice. 

PURPOSE

This seminar is a chance for a student to give a talk on a recent state-of-the-art paper in a subject in modern astrophysics. Students want to learn about oral presentations: the art of communication using your voice and slides, and discussing the content with your peers. This is a skill required by any scientist, e.g., at conferences, in meetings, or when teaching. 

PRESENTATION

The talk must be 25 +-2 minutes long, with 10 minutes of questions thereafter (total 35 minutes). Speakers may expect to receive questions  immediately or by email during the week following their talk. It is the responsibility of the students that their computer works. Presentations of slides as PDF files are recommended.
This may be the first time that students encounter state-of-the-art scientific literature in the form of research papers. Research papers are not easy to read, and this is one of the hurdles along the way before giving the talk. Supervisors are there to help! A research paper contains references to other papers. Which of these should be up to be clarified by talking to your supervisor. Following up on some of the cited literature will teach you how to navigate in the scientific literature. You must meet with your supervisors at least two times and present a draft talk to your advisors by Wednesday the week before your seminar presentation.

AUDIENCE

An important skill in giving talks is to know your audience. The AstroSem audience mostly consists of the peers of the speaker. Talks should be understood by all attending students. During the semester all students must attend the seminar talks. Students taking the seminar for credit must attend more than 75%  of the seminars on time (a register is taken), pay attention and participate in the QA period. 

GRADE

The presenters are graded on the usual scale by the advisors and other senior members of the audience after each session, and these grades will be communicated only via basis at the end of the semester.

FEEDBACK

Students can provide anonymous feedback through a feedback sheet we collect after the session and pass it to the presenters.

FACILITIES
Talks are usually in the format of computer-based slides (e.g.,  Impress,  Keynote,  Powerpoint,  LaTeX Beamer). If you use the projector you make sure it works with your laptop before the session. To be safe, presentations converted to PDF slides are recommended. It is up to you to make sure - in advance - that all your text, plots, images, animations etc. show clearly. 

LANGUAGE

As with all Master courses in Astrophysics, talks must be given in English.