Kick-off Meeting

The kick-off meeting was held in Madrid between the 28^th and 29^th of January 2009, coinciding with the Madrid summer school. Visiting scientists were invited to participate with members of the RoPACS network to listen to a variety of introductory presentations.

The aim of the meeting was to cover the following points:

• Give a full presentation and agreement of the project, including overall work plan and specification of key deadlines and actions
• Provide basis for a detailed annual work plan
• Clarify methods of communication between partners
• Inform about administrative procedures, e.g. communication, reporting, financial issues
• Set up topical working groups
• Outline plans for research activities and present important updates on new results and facilities

Materials in support of the kick-off meeting

• Meeting Agenda - Timetable of presentations
• Annex I - Description of work

Presentations given at the kick-off meeting

Each of the presentations listed below can be downloaded by clicking the relevant link

• RoPACS overview - Dr David Pinfield
• WTS processing and light curves - Dr Simon Hodgkin
• Searching for occultations in WTS - Jayne Birkby
• Ongoing planet searches at MPE - Dr Johannes Koppenhöfer
• Future planet activities at MPE - Dr Roberto Saglia
• Direct exoplanet detection from high-resolution spectroscopy - Dr John Barnes
• "UKIRT Planet Finder" - project status - Prof. Hugh Jones
• "Nahual" project status - RESCHEDULED
• The transmission spectra of planet earth (work submitted to nature) - Dr Enric Palle
• Mission systems studies at Astrium - Mr Craig Brown
• Direct imaging of sub-stellar companions around cool dwarfs - Dr Mari Cruz Galvez Ortiz
• The MIRI instrument on JWST - Dr David Barrado
• Model fits to the spectra of cool and ultra-cool dwarfs: current work and future plans - Dr Yakiv Pavlenko
• Comparison between observations and Phoenix models of M, L and T dwarfs - Dr Carlos del Burgo

Photographs taken at the kick-off meeting

Click on the following link to view photographs taken at the RoPACS kick-off meeting.