IUCAA - Khagol # 111 - July 2017

| KHAG L | | No. 111 - JULY 2017 06 IAU-EC99@IUCAA The Executive Committee of the International Astronomical Union (IAU) had its 99th annual meeting at IUCAA during May 8 - 12, 2017. The IAU was founded in 1919, and is headquartered in Paris. Itsmission is to promote and safeguard the science of astronomy in all its aspects through international cooperation. It has 12,662 individual members from 101 countries, and 282 of these are from India. The IAU has a General Assembly every three years, and supports prestigious symposia and other professional meetings all through the year. The IAU awards prizes, and supports educational and public outreach activities and the use of astronomy as an instrument for overall development all through the world. The IAU has an Office for Astronomy for Development at Cape Town, and an Office for Astronomy Outreach at Tokyo, which are actively engaged in furthering the aims of the IAU internationally. Among the important tasks of the IAU are the definition of fundamental astronomical and physical constants, unambiguous astronomical nomenclature, promotion of educational activities in astronomy, and informal discussions on the possibilities for future international large-scale facilities. Furthermore, the IAU serves as the internationally recognized authority for assigning designations to celestial bodies and surface features on them. Persons who attended the Executive Committee meeting included Silvia Torres- Piembert, who is the President of the IAU and Piero Benvenuti, the General-Secretary. In addition to the eleven Executive Committee members, seven Division Presidents of the IAU were also present at themeeting. Several interesting events were organised at IUCAA during the EC meeting. These included (i) A Round-Table for Women Astronomers, (ii) A presentation of Public Outreach Activities carried out by IUCAA, the Astronomical Society of India, and the Jyotirvidya Parisanstha, (iii) A Public Lecture by Ewine van Dishoeck of the Leiden Observatory, The Netherlands (who is the President-Elect of the IAU), titled Building Stars, Planets and the Ingredients for Life in Space, and (iv) A Colloquium by Bruce Elmegreen of the IBM Thomas J. Watson Research Centre in the USA, titled Galaxy Thick Disks. The meeting was coordinated byAjit Kembhavi, from IUCAA andVice-President of IAU.