Internal Newsletter
Changes in the communication team
Your communication team has evolved! There has been several changes in the last few months and with Phase III of the NCCR PlanetS. We welcome two new members with Sophie Krummenacher and Thibaut Roger. They are replacing respectively Sylviane Blum (retirement) and Arian Bastani who left the NCCR and joined the communication team of Bern’s […]
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Second #NCCRWomen campaign
Last November, the second #NCCRWomen campaign started, featuring again scientists from the NCCR PlanetS! #NCCRWomen is an initiative launched for the 50th anniversary of women’s right to vote in Switzerland (7th of February 1971). It puts under the spotlight, women from each NCCR, sharing their portrait on a dedicated Twitter account, looking back at their […]
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Junior Research Assembly (JURA) 2022
The latest Junior Research Assembly (JURA) took place from the 4th to the 6th of April. Young researchers from the four universities that are part of NCCR PlanetS were invited to this 3-day event hosted at Hotel Meielisalp in Leissigen. There was a lot of motivation to participate from all universities, with an impressive number […]
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CaSSIS Book
The Colour and Stereo Surface Imaging System (CaSSIS) is a visual imaging system that was built by the University of Bern with support from several institutions in Europe and the US. The NCCR contributed to CaSSIS in the early phases and was very important in supporting its genesis. The camera was launched from Baikonur onboard […]
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InsiderS Editorial
Dear NCCR PlanetS members and associates, It has been a while since the last issue of the internal newsletter and much has happened in the mean time. This was evident at the first in-person General Assembly in two years, where many new faces could be seen. The 4-day event was a very rewarding event for […]
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General Assembly 2022 in Grindelwald
The first in-person General Assembly in two years took place in Grindelwald. Nearly 150 members and associates, as well as the Advisory Board, gathered there to present and listen to each other’s research progress, catch up with or meet colleagues in-person for the first time and overall enjoyed a very rewarding time. After two years […]
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Prestigious Grants and Honors of PlanetS members
Despite the difficulties that the pandemic brought with it, our members have been incredibly successful in applying for prestigious grants and were honored with exceptional awards and prizes. Below follows an overview of some of the more recent examples. Paolo Sossi (ETHZ) and Brice Demory (UBE) won Starting and Consolidator Grants from the European […]
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When in doubt, aim high
Veerle Sterken had been away from a paid job in cosmic dust science for three years. Then she convinced the European Research Council (ERC) to fund her project on interstellar dust. That kick-started her “second career” in astrophysics and led to her project being welcomed into PlanetS by the board. “I will send out my […]
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Three Earth-like planets identified in two planetary systems
PlanetS astronomers associated with an international team have estimated the density of the planets in two planetary systems. Discovered by the Kepler satellite, K2-32 and K2-233 are planetary systems with 4 and 3 planets respectively. The diameters of the planets have been measured by Kepler thanks to the transit method which uses the obscuration of […]
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Science taught her to stand up for herself
Yogita Kadlag is an astrophysicist from Maharashtra, India. Since October 2019, she’s been a member of the NCCR PlanetS. From her hometown, where she is stranded due to the Corona pandemic, she spoke to us about her work, cultural differences and discrimination. “It’s raining heavily at the moment; can we try again in 20 minutes?”, […]
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