President's Page Archive

Amsterdam, 21 Febr. 2008.

Dear ELGRA member,

The European Space Sciences Committee of European Science Foundation, ESF, has been asked by ESA to evaluate ESA's plans for in the area of microgravity and space exploration, the future ELIPS-ARISE program. The ELIPS-ARISE program covers a period of five years. Some of you, as experts in this field, are invited to the ESF evaluation meeting next week.
As ELGRA we want to ask all our members if they have any suggestions or comments on how ESA could support our science best in the next five years.

The ESF has set up a series of questions to the meetings participants. See below.
We want to open the possibility to all ELGRA members to respond to these questions. We will collect them and bring them forward during the meeting.

So if you have any points that should be addressed please fill out one or more of the question(s) below. Your response should be send to me before coming Monday 13:00 hrs. Your inputs will be handled anonymously.

Questions as formulated by the ESSC-ESF:
======================================================

1- Please indicate your field of interest

1: Exobiology (origin, distribution and evolution of life; hazards)
2: Biology (molecular and cell biology; plant biology; developmental biology)
3: Physiology (Integrative gravitational physiology; non- gravitational physiology of spaceflight; neurophysiology; countermeasures)
4: Fundamental Physics (general relativity and quantum phenomena; complex plasma; dust and vibrational physics)
5: Fluid physics and Combustion (fluid physics; combustion; interfaces)
5: Material Sciences (thermophysical properties of fluids for advanced processes; new materials, products and processes; crystal growth)

2- Achievements: can you provide us with a couple (5 max) bullet points on what are, from your point of view and in your domain of research, the main achievements of the ELIPS programme to date?
.......

3- Future priorities: can you provide us with a couple (5 max) bullet points on what are, from your point of view and in your domain of research, the main research priorities to be considered in the next 10 years?
... ....

4- Long Term priorities : Can you speculate on scientific issues (5 bullet points max.) that might arise and become important beyond the 10 years timeframe
... .....

5- Applications : can you briefly describe any personal experience in successful spin-offs applications (industrialisation, patents,?)?


In additions, it would be great if you could gather information and inputs on potential trans-disciplinary cooperation in your field. This will be discussed during the sessions.

=================================================
You can download the previous report from the ESF-ESSC ?Scientific Perspectives for ESA s Future Programme in Life and Physical Sciences in Space?
on: http://www.esf.org/publications/space.html. Report date: Date : 01.08.2005 : ESSC-ESF Recommendations

Looking forward to your comments.

Sincerely yours,

Jack van Loon
ELGRA president

Amsterdam, 7 Febr. 2008.

Dear ELGRA members,

With a beautiful launch of the Space Shuttle Atlantis (STS-122) from Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral at 20:45 CET tonight with the European Columbus module within its cargo bay a very important step has been made towards the utilization of the International Space Station.

The Columbus includes facilities for both physical and life sciences and technology such as the Fluid Science Laboratory, the European Drawer Rack, Biolab, the European Physiology Modules, the European Transport Carrier and the external facilities Eutef and Solar. The Protein Crystallisation Diagnostics Facility and a novel exercise devise against microgravity deconditioning, the Flywheel, complete the major facilities in the European module. Columbus will be installed by the ESA astronauts Hans Schlegel and Leopold Eyharts in the days to come.

With this successful launch Atlantis will not only deliver Columbus with its new research facilities for ISS but it also provides Europe with its full utilization capabilities, including European crew members. This increases the possibilities to perform our science in ISS significantly.

ELGRA, as representative society of the European user community, we want to congratulate all that have been working hard to finally have 'our' Columbus module attached to the ISS in a couple of days. We can look forward to an interesting time in low gravity research.

Sincerely yours,

Jack van Loon
ELGRA President

Amsterdam, September 2007.

Dear ELGRA members and other participants to the Florence symposium,

Two weeks ago we had our 17th biennial symposium and general assembly in Florence together with the Italian Association for Aeronautical and Space Medicine. It was a very fruitful meeting, scientifically but also socially. I want to thank the local organizer Dr. Monica Monici and her colleagues as well as our host, the Institute of Military Aeronautical Sciences, for all their support, time and hospitality dedicated to this symposium.

One of the tasks of the general assembly convened in Florence was to install a new management bureau. We have 2 replacements: The position of Dr. Valerie Leque was taken by Dr. Javier Medina in order to continue the representation of the plant sciences within management committee. The Dr. Felix Strollo stepped down and was replaced by Prof.dr. Floris Wuyts for the field of human physiology. Finally, Prof.dr. Daniel Beysens took a position as regular committee member as past president of our society. I want to thank all three and especially the leaving members Dr. Leque and Dr. Strollo for their time and dedication to serve the user community of ELGRA. I am looking forward to work with the new bureau members, with Dr. Thodoris Karapantsios incoming vice -president and Prof.dr. Hendrik Kuhlmann as general secretary for the coming two years, until the next ELGRA symposium and general assembly in Bonn.

For those who participated in the Florence symposium I want to stress the possibility to enter a manuscript to be published in a special issue of Microgravity Sciences and Technology, MST. Regular papers should be no longer than 4 pages, invited speakers and medalists no longer than 6 pages (printed format). You may obtain some detailed information on MST format etc. on symposium pages on the ELGRA web site. You may send your manuscript to Dr. Monica Monici : "monica.monici@unifi.it". The deadline for submission is Friday 12th of October.

Thank you all for your contributions both at the symposium and for the special MST issue.

Sincerely yours,

Jack van Loon
ELGRA president

Paris, July, 2007

Dear ELGRA members and attendants of the ELGRA Symposium 2007,

It is with great pleasure that I welcome you at our Biennial Symposium (and General Assembly) in one of the most attractive cities in the world, Florence (Italy). The local organizing committee, led by Dr. Monica Monici, is doing an extraordinary job to make this Symposium the most successful and enjoyable one.

This Symposium is held jointly by the Italian Association for Aeronautical and Space Medicine at the Institute of Aeronautical Military Sciences and we will have joint sessions with them. Five plenary lectures are planned. Due to the large number of attendants, parallel sessions had to be organized. The social activities include many exciting events, as e.g. a training with the aeromedical evacuation helicopter and a gala dinner in the court of the Palazzo del Bargello with a baroque concert.

During this meeting, ELGRA will award the winners of the Undergraduate Student competition in Life and Physical Sciences. Six teams have been selected and invited by ELGRA and ESA to give a short oral presentation and present a poster. The winners of the student contest (one team from Life science and one team from Physical Science) will be elected by the audience attending their presentations.

This meeting is also an opportunity to reward our most illustrious and distinguished members. This year the ELGRA medals will be given to Dr. Jan Vreeburg, for his outstanding results in Microgravity Fluid Dynamics (liquid sloshing) and to Prof. Gérard Perbal, for his exceptional work in Plant Physiology in Microgravity (lentil gravitropism).

A major concern of the community is the new program ELIPS 3 that will be elaborated for the Conference of Ministries in 2008. A round table about the perspectives of low gravity research in Europe is organized with three representative of ESA. We expect a large audience and participation to this special event.

The Biennial ELGRA Symposium is the time of the ELGRA General Assembly and the renewal of the Bureau. Because I am finishing my second and last term as President, I would like to particularly express my thanks to the present Bureau. Discussions and decisions were always made in a spirit of friendly collaboration and cooperative democracy.

In the name of the Managing Committee I would also like to express our thanks to ESA for its continued and substantial support of ELGRA as well to EADS-Astrium, HTS AG, Kayser-Threde GmbH, OHB-system, SSC Esrange and ZARM for their continuous financial support of our activities and to Galileo Avionica for their significant sponsoring of this meeting. I also want to thank you all as member of our society for your active contributions over the years.

I wish you an interesting and successful ELGRA Symposium 2007 and a very enjoyable stay in Florence!

D. Beysens
President of ELGRA

Paris, July, 2007

Dear ELGRA members and attendants of the ELGRA Symposium 2007,

It is with great pleasure that I welcome you at our Biennial Symposium (and General Assembly) in one of the most attractive cities in the world, Florence (Italy). The local organizing committee, led by Dr. Monica Monici, is doing an extraordinary job to make this Symposium the most successful and enjoyable one.

This Symposium is held jointly by the Italian Association for Aeronautical and Space Medicine at the Institute of Aeronautical Military Sciences and we will have joint sessions with them. Five plenary lectures are planned. Due to the large number of attendants, parallel sessions had to be organized. The social activities include many exciting events, as e.g. a training with the aeromedical evacuation helicopter and a gala dinner in the court of the Palazzo del Bargello with a baroque concert.

During this meeting, ELGRA will award the winners of the Undergraduate Student competition in Life and Physical Sciences. Six teams have been selected and invited by ELGRA and ESA to give a short oral presentation and present a poster. The winners of the student contest (one team from Life science and one team from Physical Science) will be elected by the audience attending their presentations.

This meeting is also an opportunity to reward our most illustrious and distinguished members. This year the ELGRA medals will be given to Dr. Jan Vreeburg, for his outstanding results in Microgravity Fluid Dynamics (liquid sloshing) and to Prof. Gérard Perbal, for his exceptional work in Plant Physiology in Microgravity (lentil gravitropism).

A major concern of the community is the new program ELIPS 3 that will be elaborated for the Conference of Ministries in 2008. A round table about the perspectives of low gravity research in Europe is organized with three representative of ESA. We expect a large audience and participation to this special event.

The Biennial ELGRA Symposium is the time of the ELGRA General Assembly and the renewal of the Bureau. Because I am finishing my second and last term as President, I would like to particularly express my thanks to the present Bureau. Discussions and decisions were always made in a spirit of friendly collaboration and cooperative democracy.

In the name of the Managing Committee I would also like to express our thanks to ESA for its continued and substantial support of ELGRA as well to EADS-Astrium, HTS AG, Kayser-Threde GmbH, OHB-system, SSC Esrange and ZARM for their continuous financial support of our activities and to Galileo Avionica for their significant sponsoring of this meeting. I also want to thank you all as member of our society for your active contributions over the years.

I wish you an interesting and successful ELGRA Symposium 2007 and a very enjoyable stay in Florence!

D. Beysens
President of ELGRA

Paris, February, 2007

Dear ELGRA Members,

I would like to wish you a very healthy and prosperous New Year.

This year is very likely to be rewarding. First of all, we will meet at our Biennial Symposium (and General Assembly) on September 4-7, in one of the most attractive city in the world, Florence, in Italy. This Symposium will be held jointly with the Italian Association for Aeronautical and Space Medicine at the Institute of Aeronautical Military Sciences. For the details of the meeting, see our ELGRA website (www.ELGRA.org). The local organizing committee, led by Dr. Monica Monici, is doing an extraordinary job to make this Symposium the most successful and enjoyable.

We will have some joint sessions with the Italian Association IAASM. Also scheduled is a student session with the winners of our student contest. The ELGRA medals in Life and Physical sciences will be bestowed to our more rewarding members. Note that the organizing committee is particularly open to all new initiatives coming from you.

Some organizational changes have been made at ESA this year. The Life and Physical Sciences Advisory Committee, where the ELGRA President was an ex-officio member, has been suppressed. In order to keep our society informed, it has been decided to have regular meetings between the Director of Human Space Flight Directorate and the ELGRA President.

Although the European Union 7th Framework Program is now published, we have to be vigilant to portray our field of research, especially concerning the discussions at the EU High Level Space Policy Group. The members of the ELGRA management committee have contacted a number of national delegations in order to bring our research into the FP7 program. However, our visibility will be greater and our action more efficient if you also contact your national delegate. A list of national delegates is implemented on our website (www.ELGRA.org).

A good motive to be optimistic is the return-to-flight of the US space shuttles. The ESA Columbus module is scheduled to be launched at the end of this year.

I am looking forwards to see you in Florence and wish you again a very Happy New Year 2007!

With best regards,

Yours sincerely,

Daniel Beysens
President of ELGRA

List of National Delegation members for the European Union 7th Framework Program and/or EU/ESA Space Policy

If you find any mistakes or when you have any additions to this table please inform us. Thank you.

Paris, November 8, 2006

Dear ELGRA Members,

It is with great pleasure that I give you a number of information regarding ELGRA and our passion: research in space and weightlessness.

You will receive soon the ELGRA Newsletter and the Proceedings of the last ELGRA Symposium in Santorini (Greece). The Proceedings are a special edition of Microgravity Science and Technology that reports the status of our present research, with the guest editors Marianne Cogoli, Thodoris Karapantsios and myself.

Please write on your notebooks that ELGRA will hold its next biannual symposium – the 19th since its foundation – between the 4th and 9th September 2007 in the magnificent city of Florence. This symposium will be hold jointly with the 19th meeting of the Italian Association for Aerospace Medicine, authorizing a large audience. Prof. Monica Monici is the local organizer of the meeting and we thank her very much for undertaking this heavy task.

We expect large student participation and will do our best to subsidize their venue. In addition, we organize a contest for the best student studies in both Physical and Life Sciences as in our previous Symposia. The winners, in addition to receiving a special ELGRA award, will expose their work in front of the ELGRA audience in a general session.

The Symposium gives us the opportunity to award the ELGRA medals. Every two years, ELGRA honours two of our more esteemed members in Life and Physical Sciences for their outstanding contribution in the field of Microgravity sciences.

It is also the time where the new Bureau of the Association will be elected, during the general Assembly. I would like to remind you that the volunteers interested in contributing to our Association can contact me directly (daniel.beysens@espci.fr). It is indeed the role of the current bureau to propose for the election of the members a number of new volunteers who want to serve in the future Bureau.

ELGRA represents its members and is an active Organization in a number of international scientific meetings as the International Symposium on Physical Sciences in Space (22-26 october 2007 in Nara, Japan) and the joint meeting of the International Society for Gravitational Physiology-American Society for Gravitational and Space Biology, ESA, the French Space Agency CNES and ELGRA, in Angers on 22-28 June 2008.

The future research using the microgravity and space environment looks promising since the recent Atlantis shuttle flight was a success. The Columbus module is still scheduled for launch in autumn 2007. Let us hope that this date will be the right one.
We have good reasons to be optimistic and I expect you in Florence to make our Symposium a great success!

Yours sincerely,

Daniel Beysens
President of ELGRA

Paris, January 10, 2006

Dear ELGRA Members,

I want to take this season greetings opportunity to wish all of you a safe, healthy, and prosperous New Year.

2005 was the year of our General Symposium, which was held in Santorini. Thanks to the efforts of all and mainly of the local organizing committee chaired by T. Karapantsios, this meeting was a real success. We particularly appreciated the participation of many Japanese friends. The proceedings of the Symposium, which will appear soon, will give the snapshot of today’s best space-related activities in Life and Physical Sciences.

The success we enjoy today, though well deserved, will need significant effort to be matched in the coming years. Indeed, the last ministerial conference, although supporting the Columbus project thanks to you and our insistent lobbying, did not endorse the full ELIPS 2 program. A difficult prioritisation exercise will have to be made by ESA, and this we expect to be performed in close collaboration with the actors of Microgravity sciences.

New European programs, such as CELSIUS, should also emerge. However, in these tough years for Microgravity Sciences, an intensified collaboration beyond Europe (with Russia, Japan, and others) appears mandatory. The success of Chinese space activities should also lead to new and interesting collaborative research programs.

The year 2006, with the expected return-to-flight of the space shuttle, is likely to be a very important and critical year for our community. I again wish you great success in your endeavours!

Yours sincerely,

Daniel Beysens
President of ELGRA

Paris, November 12, 2005

Dear ELGRA Members,

Our last General (Biennial) Symposium in Santorini was a real success. More than 200 scientists participated, with a strong attendance of Japanese scientists - thanks to the contribution of JASMA and its President, three parallel sessions were held and a special round table on Human Exploration with specialists from Europe, North America and Japan ended the Symposium. The abstracts volume will be sent by mail to all members who did not participate. This meeting was the key time where the Physical Science and Life science communities could meet, exchange ideas and show on solidarity.
The next meeting is already scheduled, it will be held in Firenze, early September 2007.

However, it is precisely when these communities are the largest and that important research programs have started that a diminution of the budgets for research might jeopardize these efforts. In addition, the difficulties of NASA might lead to a possible cancellation of the Columbus launch. We have to react. For participating to the defense of our programs, see the letter to be sent to the General Director of ESA and Ministerial Delegates in our website http://www.elgra.org/concern/. We encourage you to enter your name if you have not already done so during the meeting in Santorini. Also alert your colleagues to support this important letter.
The General meeting was also the time of the ELGRA General Assembly and the renewal of the Bureau, according to new Statutes adopted in Munich in 2003. You have renewed your confidence to the former Bureau, with myself as President, Jack van Loon as VicePresident, Thodoris Karapantsios as General Secretary, Kurt Kemmerle as Treasurer and Valerie Legue, Hendrik Kuhlman, Felix Strollo and Monica Monici - new comer -, as members. I would like to particularly express my gratitude to the outgoing members of the Bureau, Marianne Cogoli, who successively served as vice-President, President and member and Libero Liggieri, who served as member and General Secretary for many years.
Our goal is to continue the task engaged two years ago, keeping ELGRA as a key partner of Space Agencies and Space decision makers. This is especially important as the tightness of the ELIPS-2 budget might make our space activity even more difficult in the next years. To be still more representative, we need your help to extend the memberships.
Together, we will make a still more capable ELGRA at the microgravity user's service.

Yours sincerely,

Daniel Beysens
President of ELGRA

Paris, FR, 4 July 2005

Dear ELGRA Members and attendants of the ELGRA 2005 biannual meeting,

I would like to welcome you to our ELGRA meeting in Santorini. This is a very special event in this gorgeous location in this historic island in the heart of the Aegean Sea, because it happens at a very key moment. At this moment, we are expecting the return-to-flight of the space shuttle and we are organizing our research program after the last selection of ESA Announcement of Opportunities. Besides, we must explain and defend the ELIPS program at the next Conference of Ministries.
In addition to reporting recent space research activities, this meeting will be the occasion to report the status of our new research programs. A number of general lectures and keynotes speakers will introduce the fields.
In cooperation with our Japanese colleagues, several Euro-Japanese sessions have been organized with the Japan Society of Microgravity Application (JASMA). I would like to gratefully thank President Taketoshi Hibiya for his excellent and friendly collaboration in the organization of this event.

The new ascendancy of the Human Space Flight Directorate where Exploration is emphasized raises a number of concerns in the community; a special round table on Exploration has been organized on this topic at the end of the meeting.
The large number of participants has forced us to organize the meeting into three parallel sessions (two in physical sciences and one in life science); many common events, however, will still be held together. Indeed, what makes ELGRA special is that both physical science researchers and life science researchers interact to foster collaborative work. In effect, the new Exploration program may be a good opportunity to enhance our strengths in interdisciplinary work.
During this meeting, ELGRA will award the winner of the Undergraduate Student competition in Life and Physical Sciences. The competition was fierce with 9 excellent proposals. The teams by R. Rocha, V. Botelho and J. Pais (Physical Science: Gas jet study) and P. Zervoulakos and R. Otchwemah (Life science: Vibration training) won this competition. They will be awarded their prize and give a lecture.
This meeting is also an opportunity to reward our most illustrious and distinguished members. The ELGRA medals will be given this year to Prof. Dr.-Ing. habil. J. Straub, for his outstanding results in Critical Point and Boiling Phenomena, and Dr. A. Cogoli, for his exceptional work in Biology, Immunology and Technology.

The Biannual ELGRA meeting is also the time of the ELGRA General Assembly and the renewal of the Bureau. I would like to particularly express thanks to the outgoing Bureau. During our service, we have been a good team where discussions and decisions were made in a spirit of friendly collaboration and cooperative democracy.

I would particularly like to express my gratitude to the local organizing committee, presided by Prof. T. Karapantsios. You already have experienced its effectiveness and will surely enjoy the organization of sessions and social events.
ELGRA would also like to express thanks to ESA (our main contributor), EADS, Galileo Avionica, HTS AG, Kayser-Threde, OHB, SSC Esrange, and ZARM for their thoughtful financial support of our activities.

Welcome to Santorini and ELGRA 2005 biannual meeting!

Daniel Beysens
President of ELGRA

Paris, FR, 21st January 2005

Dear ELGRA Members,

The year which started is likely to be exciting. Exciting in a positive or negative way, for several different reasons.
The first reason to be optimistic is the approach of our Biennial Meeting (and General Assembly), which will be held on the gorgeous island of Santorini, in Greece, on September 21-23. Already scheduled are a student session with the winners of our student contest, a special Japan-Europe session devoted to fluids, from cryogenic temperature to high temperature. A round table with the French CNES-CNRS research network “Fundamental and Applied Microgravity” is also foreseen and other initiatives are under discussions. The organizing committee is particularly open to all new initiatives coming from you.
A second motive to be hopeful is the return-to-flight of the US space shuttles