The astrophysics program at the Physics Department in Split has officially started Split - October 20, 2008: The first students enrolled to the astrophysics program and lectures start today. News about the astrophysics program is available on the official department's web-pages. fizika.pmfst.hr/astro

Press release: "Space Travelers Gather in Croatia for Historic Summit" Astronaut, Cosmonaut and Private Space Travelers Assemble to Discuss How Small Countries Will Shape the Future of Space Split - August 27, 2007: On the occasion of the fiftieth anniversary of space travel, space travelers with a combined 415 days of space experience gathered in Croatia to discuss the future of human spaceflight. The summit (www.space-forum.org) brought together private space traveler Greg Olsen, veteran astronaut Ed Lu, active cosmonaut Valery Tokarev, and prospective space traveler Per Wimmer. Olsen, Lu and Tokarev all have substantial time on the International Space Station, while Wimmer has tickets on future suborbital flights. It was the first time that all types of space travelers had come together in Europe. ...more

Press conference about "Human Presence in Space" Split - August 20, 2007: Press conference by Society znanost.org about the upcoming "Human Presence in Space" (www.space-forum.org) forum. Date: August 20, 2007, Time: 11:00, Location: Le Meridien Lav hotel Participants: Dr.Bojan Pečnik, Coordinator of "Dalmatian Space Summer", astronaut Dr.Edward T.Lu, Dr.Dejan Vinković, President of Society znanost.org, and cosmonaut Valery I.Tokarev. ...more

Press conference about "Dalmatian Space Summer" Split, Zagreb - June 26, 2007: Press conference by Society znanost.org and Physics Department, University of Split: "Dalmatian Space Summer - Presenting the city of Split as a future international centre for education and research in space sciences" Date: June 26, 2007, Time: noon, Location: Technical Museum, Savska cesta 18, Zagreb Participants: Prof.dr.sc. Dragan Primorac, Croatian Minister of Science, Education and Sport, Doc.dr.sc.Dejan Vinković, President of Society znanost.org, Dr.sc.Bojan Pečnik, Coordinator of "Dalmatian Space Summer", Mr.Sc.Vladimir Ivković, Coordinator of "Human Presence in Space" forum, Prof.dr.sc.Mile Dželallija, Head of the Physics Department at the University of Split, Prof.dr.sc.Slavko Kulić, senior research fellow at the Insitutute of Economics, Zagreb, and a participant at the "Human Presence in Space" forum.

"Human Presence in Space" Forum Split - June 1, 2007: Astrophysics Initiative in Dalmatia is organizing a prestigious international forum "Human Presence in Space" with astronauts, cosmonauts, space travelers and space entrepreneurs as forum panelists. This event is a part of Dalmatian Space Summer 2007 and it will take place in Split on August 24-26, 2007. Through a series of public lectures, participants of the Forum will talk about their experiences in space flight and present some of the basic problems in human conquering of Space. Lectures will be followed by public round table discussions with the opportunity for general public to ask questions to the forum participants. Read more...

Dalmatian Space Summer 2007 Split - June 1, 2007: A number of scientific and outreach events will take place in the city of Split during August of 2007 as a part of Astrophysics Initiative in Dalmatia. These events are organized under the umbrella project called "Dalmatian Space Summer 2007" Read more...

Astrophysics Initiative in Dalmatia Opened its Office in Split Split - June 1, 2007: Split - June 1, 2007: Astrophysics Initiative in Dalmatia (ApID) opened its official office in Split. It will be used by scientists participating in ApID and for ApID's outreach activities. The address is: Society znanost.org - ApID Antuna Mihanovića 29 21000 Split,Croatia The new address is: Dejan Vinković - for ApID Physics Department, University of Split N.Tesle 12, 21000 Split

The Final Star-Party of the "Sky as a Gift" Project Split, Zagreb, Kaštela - April 15, 2007: On Saturday May 5th 2007 the final Star-Party will take place in the primary school "Ostrog" in the city of Kaštel Lukšić. The party signifies the end of the project "The Sky As a Gift" in 2006/07. More than 300 students from primary schools in Croatia participated in this season of the project. Read more...

Astrophysics Initiative in Dalmatia: a New Program Within Society znanost.org Zagreb - March 21, 2007: The Executive Board of Society znanost.org accepted the project Astrophysics Initiative in Dalmatia as the Society's official Project Program. This enables the Project to conduct its work, develop a logistical framework for its activities, and be overseen by independent board members and the Society's Project Council.

Successful Completion of the Split International Winter School of Astrophysics SIWA'07 Split - March 3, 2007: In February 2007 The Society znanost.org, in collaboration with the Faculty of Natural Sciences and Kinesiology at the University of Split, organized the Split International Winter school of Astrophysics (SIWA 2007). SIWA 2007 was a two-week course on extrasolar planets and astrobiology aimed at graduate and senior undergraduate students. The school had 24 participants from 16 countries from all around the world. Read more...

Split International Winter schools of Astrophysics Split - November 28, 2006: The organizing committe of the Split International Winter School of Astrophysics (SIWA 2007) finished with selecting candidates for participating at the School. SIWA 2007 will be held from February 19th through March 3rd, 2007. The School is organized by the Faculty of Natural Sciences and Kinesiology at the University of Split in a collaboration with the Society znanost.org. SIWA 2007 is a two-week course on extrasolar planets and astrobiology aimed at graduate and senior undergraduate students. Read more...

A Software Framework for Simulating Stellar Systems Split - October 30, 2006: The first comprehensive attempt to gather a signifcant group of researchers to work on the construction of a dense stellar systems framework as a team will take place in Split on August 25-31, 2007, as a part of MOdeling DEnse STellar systems (MODEST). MODEST is a collaboration between various groups working in stellar dynamics, stellar evolution, and stellar hydrodynamics. They hold renowned workshops at locations around the world on the topic of N-body simulations. The workshop in Split will focus on the development of a software framework for simulations of dense stellar systems, such as globular clusters and galactic nuclei. Read more...

New Season of "The Sky as a Gift" Split, Zagreb - September 15, 2006: The educational project "Sky as a Gift" has successfully started its third season of implementation. 30 student astronomy groups from 23 Croatian elementary schools have been involved in the project. Every group (lead by one teacher) will be lent a telescope for 4 months. The groups will work according to a special educational scheme called "Four Nights". The best group will get the telescope permanently, as a gift, while the best students will have an opportunity to participate in the Summer School in 2007 in Kaštela. The goal of the project is to enable elementary school kids to become acquainted with the scientific method and a critical way of thinking. Read more...

Astronomical Image Processing Workshop Dubrovnik - September 04-09, 2006: A workshop on the topic of astronomical image process is held in Dubrovnik. The workshop provides participants with the skills needed to understand the outputs of current and next-generation astronomical surveys, and to be in a position to contribute to the algorithm development needed to make new data-intensive projects a reality. Around 30 lectures are given by researchers including: Peter Stetson (DAOPhot), Emmanuel Bertin (SExtractor), Robert Lupton (SDSS photo), Eugene Magnier (PanSTARRS photo), and Jim Gunn (Princeton). Read more...

Summer Meeting of the Forum of Croatian Astronomers Split - August 28-31, 2006: The 2nd Summer Meeting of the Forum of Croatian Astronomers brought together fifteen participants who held lectures about their research. The participants also discussed the current status of the Astrophysics Initiative in Dalmatia and its five year business strategy. This initiative includes support for the astrophysics graduate program at the University of Split and astrophysics research in Split. An informal meeting with local amateur astronomers was also organized. Read more...

Presentation of the Astrophysics Program in Split at the IAU XXVIth General Assembly Prague - August 22, 2006: Davor Krajnović (University of Oxford, UK) talked about studying astrophysics in Split at the XXVIth General Assembly of the International Astronomical Union in Prague. His presentation about the astrophysics graduate program at the University of Split is also featured in the proceedings of the General Assembly. A preprint of this presentation is available at: arxiv.org

Videoconference: "Setting up a World-Class Science Institute: Difficulties and Possibilities" Princeton, Seattle, Split, Zagreb, Rijeka - June 08, 2006: A video-conference forum on problems and possibilities surrounding the start-up of a modern science institute in developing countries, with a special focus on the country of Croatia. This panel included representatives of: Science Initiative Group, Croatian Ministry of Science and Education, Rudjer Boskovic Institute, University of Rijeka, University of Split, Croatian National Foundation for Science, Mediterranean Institute for Life Sciences, Astrophysics Program at the University of Split. Read more... (includes video recordings of the meeting)

Donations for a new astrophysics library Split - May 10, 2006: More than 80 books and 100 textbooks have been donated, together with a large set of journals (over 2 tons in total): all issues of the Astrophysical Journal and the Astronomical Journal since 1960, Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society since 1965, and Publications of the Astronomical Society of the Pacific since 1971. Books and textbooks were donated by a number of people, while the journals were donated by Dr. Bruce Partridge, Professor of Astronomy at Haverford College, USA, and Dr. William Baum, Research Professor at the Astronomy Department, University of Washington, USA. Transportation from the US to Croatia was courtesy of Fr. Gio Belanich and Croatian Relief Services, Fairview, USA. These donations enable the startup of an astrophysics library at the University of Split.