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First Announcement and Call for Applications
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The “International Max Planck Research School for Astronomy & Cosmic Physics at the University of Heidelberg” (IMPRS-HD)

announces the

— 4th Heidelberg Summer School:

— Statistical Inferences from Astrophysical Data

— August 10-14, 2009

IMPRS Heidelberg invites graduate students and postdocs to its 4th Heidelberg Summer School. This year’s school is centered on how to draw scientific inferences from astrophysical data sets. We will also discuss proper statistical methods that are crucial for testing specific astrophysical models.

The school will present essential statistical concepts and techniques. These concepts will be illustrated through various astrophysical examples. Approaches such as Monte Carlo, maximum likelihood techniques, Bayesian statistics, parametric tests, biases in censored/incomplete data, or time-series analysis will be applied in computer exercises.

The main lecturing program is presented by invited speakers and is accompanied by practical exercises and also science talks on specific topics by local experts.

Invited lecturers are:

— David W. HOGG, New York University

— Ian McHARDY, University of Southampton

— William H. PRESS, University of Texas, Austin

Deadline for application is June 15, 2009.

Please find more information, our poster, and the application
forms under
www.mpia.de/imprs-hd/
www.mpia.de/imprs-hd/SummerSchools/2009/

A limited number of grants are available to partially cover travel expenses of participants.

IMPRS-HD is an independent part of the Heidelberg Graduate School for Fundamental Physics.