Conference: From Stars to Massive Stars; University of Florida; April 6-9, 2016

University Of Florida, Gainesville FL

Investigators

Abstract

This proposal requests financial support for the international conference "From Stars to Massive Stars - Connecting our understanding of massive star and star cluster formation through the universe" to be hosted by the University of Florida on April 6 - 9, 2016. The funding will provide travel grants for graduate students and invited speakers. Overall, about 150 participants are expected. The presentations will be posted on the conference web site, so results presented at the conference will be immediately available to the wider astronomical community. As part of the conference program, there will be a public event, "Starry Night: Birth of the Giants" featuring a few public lectures by selected conference participants and star viewing This conference will bring together researchers from star formation, star cluster, massive star, starburst, and Population III research communities to share recent research results and to motivate future collaborations and projects that will improve our understanding of these phenomena. The meeting comes at a time when many exciting results are appearing from large, high resolution surveys of our Galaxy's star-forming regions along with detailed follow-up from facilities such as ALMA. With increasing computational resources and more sophisticated numerical modeling, theoretical insight is beginning to catch up with these observations. This meeting should lead to a more complete understanding of galaxy formation and evolution, as well as the nature of the star forming environments in which most stellar and planetary systems are created.