IASFRome_StatusReport - INAF-IASF-Roma

IASF Roma - STATUS REPORTfor the Visiting CommitteeRef: IASF-RM-VC-001/07DATA: 19 November 2007Page: 67/134Pincio terrace in Rome and the “Roman Summer”In collaboration with the Municipality of Rome and in partnership with the cultural associationHipparcos, IASF-Rome participated in the initiative “Stars and planets beneath the sky of Rome”on the Terrace of Pincio, (22-26 August 2007), with an exhibition of educative material inastrophysics and with conferences about space astrophysics.“Apriamo la mente”The week 18-27 May 2007 was devoted to the “Apriamo la mente (Let’s open our minds):thousand aspects of Science Research in Lazio”, an initiative promoted by the administration of theLazio Region with the intention of making it a yearly festival of science in Lazio. Our Instituteparticipated with an exhibition at the Museo Vittoriano in Rome and with an exhibition and a cycleof conferences in Fossanova (Latina).Collaboration with “COPIT”IASF-Rome collaborates with COPIT (Parliamentary Committee for Technological Innovation andSustainable Development) to promote the spread of scientific culture and the image of the variousscientific structures of the region, by initiatives like the Scientific-Technological Itinerary “GranSasso Fucino Frascati”, with the participation of INAF, CNR, ENEA, INFN, ESA-ESRIN, theFrascati Municipality, the Province of Rome, by organizing conferences, meetings, publications.Contacts with schools, cultural associations and local structures.The Institute promotes contacts and meetings with students of intermediate schools, both inoccasion of specific events devoted to scientific education (e.g. the yearly Week of Scientific andTechnological Culture), and during the normal course of the school year, depending on the needsof the interested schools. These contacts consist of conferences held by our researchers at theschools, or in guided tours in our laboratories. The tours are usually preceded by a briefconference about the research activity at IASF-Rome and by a description of the laboratories to bevisited.These contacts are also open to the public, mainly in collaboration with local administrations andcultural associations.The Phototheque (the photographic archive)The phototheque consists of a wide data-base of astronomical images, mainly concerning theSolar System. It can be used as an excellent multi-medial tool for the outreach activity: seminars,conferences, public astronomical events like the yearly meeting “Sotto le stelle di Rosora”(Beneath the stars of Rosora), held in Rosora (Ancona) in memory of Prof. Bruno Caccin, or likethe refresher course for teachers in 2006, held in preparation of a guided tour to Turkey, organizedin collaboration to the cultural association “Hipparcos” to observe the total solar eclipse of March29.The flight model of the Gamma-ray Space Telescope IBISIn the framework of the ESA project INTEGRAL, IASF-Rome has the responsibility of keeping themodel of the gamma-ray telescope IBIS in operative conditions for the entire duration of theINTEGRAL mission. The instrument, similar to the flying one, is maintained in controlledenvironmental conditions in a clean room (White Room) that contains all the instrumentationneeded to simulate the on-board conditions. In this way in an adjacent room it is possible toperform in simulation all of the on-board operations, with the help of a fully dedicated computercenter. Besides its clear efficacy as a test system, this model is also a powerful education tool forstudents of various levels, from intermediate schools up to senior university students, as it hasbeen experienced in last years.67