Dear colleagues and friends,

We are pleased to invite you to the 11th LATIN-AMERICAN REGIONAL IAU
MEETING (LARIM-2005) to be held in Pucon, south of Chile, in December
12-16, 2005.

We are anticipating a stimulating meeting congregating people from
Latin-America and the rest of the world who work in many different
areas of research. This meeting will allow us to learn about the
current scientific efforts taking place in our region and to
reach outto the rest of the international astronomical community.
Please find below a list of the topics to be discussed during the
meeting and of the invited speakers as well.

If you are interested in participating, please send an e-mail to:

larim2005@sochias.cl

and visit our web page www.sochias.cl/larim2005.html for further
information.

Also, please circulate this announcement amongst your colleagues.

Best regards,

Monica Rubio (mrubio@das.uchile.cl)
Chair of the SOC and contact person.

Other members of the SOC (Scientific Organizing Committee):

Beatriz Barbuy (Brasil) Mario Hmuy (Chile)
Silvia Torres-Peimbert (Mexico) Wolfgang Gieren (Chile)
Gustavo Bruzual (Venezuela) Leopoldo Infante (co-chair, Chile)
Gloria Dubner (Argentina) Rene Mendez (Chile)
Julio Fernandez (Uruguay) Dante Minniti (Chile)
Maria Teresa Ruiz (Chile)

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Title: 11th LATIN-AMERICAN REGIONAL IAU MEETING (LARIM-2005)

MOTIVATION

The series of Latin-American Regional Meeting accommodates all
possible efforts to raise the standard of research and education in
astronomy for all its members by promoting collaboration in both
aspects. Recent remarkable achievements in the frontiers of astronomy
and astrophysics will be reviewed by invited speakers, and all
participants are encouraged to present their recent works in the form
of talk or poster. An ample of time is available for discussions
which is certainly the efficient way in distributing and sharpening
knowledge and skill, promoting new ideas, and creating collaborations.

The Chilean astronomical community is particularly pleased in hosting
LARIM-2005 and Chile is a particularly apt venue for this
meeting. Its current and planned world-class observational facilities such as
Magellan, Gemini, VLT, and ALMA are the drivers of the modern
research and will provide the perfect background for the discussion.

The scientific sessions will cover the following topics:

* Solar Physics, Planetary Systems
* Interstellar Medium, Star formation
* Stellar Evolution, Activities, Binaries
* Galactic structure, Local Group, Stellar Populations
* Galaxies, Large Scale Structure, Cosmology
* Compact Objects, AGNs, and High Energy/Cosmic Ray Astrophysics
* Numerical Astrophysics
* Astronomical Instrumentation in Chile

LOCATION

Pucon is a small town located by the Villarrica Lake and close to the
volcano of the same name in the southern Chilean Lake District,
renowned for its natural beauty and adventure tourism industry. The
town has an excellent hotel infrastructure for hosting the
meeting.We have reserved rooms at the Hotel del Lago (www.hoteldellago.cl),
where the meeting will also be held. Many shops, restaurants and
parks, as well as other hotels are located within walking distance.

PRE-REGISTRATION and FEES

Researchers interested in assisting to LARIM-2005 should pre-register
by the 31 of March 2005 by cutting and completing the form enclosed
below, sending it to larim2005@sochias.cl. Dates for early registration
(including payment of fees of US$150 for PhDs and US$70 for
students) and final registration (fees of US$200 for PhDs and US$100 for
students), abstract submission and hotel booking will be posted
shortly in our web page (www.sochias.cl/larim2005.html)

IAU Grants

IAU offers grant to individuals attending IAU meetings.
Applications should be made following IAU grant procedures
(http://www.iau.org/IAU/Activities/meetings/meetrules.html#Grants)
and applicant should make use of the form found in
http://www.iau.org/IAU/Activities/meetings/travappl.html, and sent
to mrubio@das.uchile.cl. Deadline for IAU grant applications has been set
to June 30, 2005

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SCIENTIFIC ORGANIZING COMMITTEE

Beatriz Barbuy (Brasil)
Gustavo Bruzual (Venezuela)
Gloria Dubner (Argentina)
Mario Hamuy (Chile)
Julio Fernandez (Uruguay)
Wolfgang Gieren (Chile)
Leopoldo Infante (Chile - chair)
Rene Mendez (Chile)
Dante Minniti (Chile)
Monica Rubio (Chile - chair)
Maria Teresa Ruiz (Chile)
Silvia Torres-Peimbert (Mexico)

LOCAL ORGANIZING COMMITTEE

Felipe Barrientos (PUC)
Edgardo Costa (UChile)
Gaspar Galaz (PUC - chair)
Doug Geisler (Concepcion)
Roberto Gilmozzi (ESO)
Eduardo Hardy (NRAO)
Paulina Lira (U Chile - chair)
Sebastian Lopez (U Chile)
Mark Phillips (LCO)
Amelia Ramirez (U La Serena)
Malcolm Smith (AURA)

CONFIRMED INVITED REVIEWERS

Marcio Catelan Chile
Francois Combes France
Pierre Cox France
Claudia de Oliveira Brazil
Ken Freeman Australia
Guido Garay Chile
Reinhardt. Genzel Germany
Riccardo Giaconni USA
Malcolm Longair United Kingdom
Pat Osmer USA
Lyman Page USA
Luis F. Rodriguez Mexico
David Spergel USA
Constanze Stubbs USA
Meg Urry USA
Robert Williams USA

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LARIM 2005, Pucon, Chile.
Pre-Registration Form

Name:
Institute:
Are you planning to give an oral presentation?:
Title of the presentation:
Are you planning to present a poster?:
Title of the poster:
Are you a student requesting support(*)?
If yes, please send a brief note explaining your situation:

* A limited amount of financial support will be available for
participants if needed. See IAU grant section.