Khagol issue_116

Introductory Workshop on Astronomy and Astrophysics for Women The Department of Physics, Alphonsa College, Pala, Kerala, oraganised the Introductory Workshop on Astronomy and Astrophysics for Women, during September 13 - 15, 2018, for the benefit of UG and PG girl students from various colleges and universities in Kerala. The programme was organised to foster the interest inAstronomy andAstrophysics among the girls in the region and bring upmorewomen astronomers. The resource persons and their topics were: Jincy Devasia (Henry Baker College, Melukavumattam) on Introduction to X-ray Pulsars, Savithri Ezhikode (IUCAA) on An Overview of X-ray Astronomy, Nayana A.J. (NCRA, Pune) on Radio Supernovae, Jessy Jose (IISER, Tirupati) on Star Planet Formation: An Overview, Minu Joy (Alphonsa College, Pala) on Cosmic Microwave Background Radiation, Indulekha K. (Mahatma Gandhi University, Kottayam) on Binaries in Stellar Clusters, Resmi L. (IIST, Thiruvananthapuram) on The Dawn of Multi-Messenger Astronomy, Prasia P. (Government College, Chittur) on Gravitational Waves: Past, Present and Future, and Annapurni Subramaniam (IIA, Bengaluru) on The First Indian SpaceObservatory:AstroSat and theUVTelescope. Forty one women participants were selected from the 75 applicants. The programme consisted of lectures, skywatch and problemsolving sessions. A special lecture on the topic: The Role of Women in Astronomy was delivered by Resmi L., which provided the students an opportunity to get to know some of the prominent women scientists, who have overcome prejudice and exclusion to make significant contributions to their field. This workshop was the first of this kind in India, led exclusively by women and participated by girl students. It was a grand success, and there were a lot of interactions and discussions with the resource persons, and among the participants also. Minu Joy and Savithri Ezhikodewere the coordinators of theworkshop. | KHAG L | No. 116 - OCTOBER 2018 | 11