NANOGrav Timing Group 14-year Data Set Busy Week
Lafayette College
August 5-9, 2019

Busy week purpose

The principal purpose of this busy week is to undertake Timing Group work associated with the 14-year data release. This will include overall planning (e.g., what to include in the data set, procedures to use for data analysis, etc.), algorithm work (e.g., how to identify and mitigate problems associate with the Arecibo LO issue), timing analysis (e.g., developing solutions for pulsars newly added to the program), and other data-set-related work.

Depending on who is at the workshop, it may also be a useful time to work on other Timing Group topics, such as integration of data from telescopes beyond Arecibo and the GBT.

While the busy week will not have formal training sessions, students and others who are interested in becoming more involved in Timing Group activities are encouraged to attend.

A planning document for the busy week is here: Busy week planning document
The 14-year planning document is here: 14-yr planning document

Registration

Please register so that we have a sense of who will be at the meeting, when people will arrive and depart, etc. If possible, please register by July 15, so we know how much food to order and how much meeting space we need. However, late registrants will also be welcome. To register, add yourself to the spreadsheet at Timing group 14 year busy week registration. You should be able to access the sheet using your nanograv.org credentials. (If you have trouble accessing it, press the "Request Access" button after logging in to any Google account. Or just E-mail David Nice.)

Location

The meeting will be in Hugel Science Center room 115 on the campus of Lafayette College, in Easton, PA. (Google map)

Food

We plan on providing light breakfast, morning and afternoon coffee, and lunch for the meeting.

Funding

Participation in the meeting (including breakfast and lunch) is free. There is no funding earmarked specifically for travel to this meeting. If you need funding, contact your local NANOGrav investigator or the NANOGrav PFC PIs.

Accommodation

We have not reserved hotel room blocks for this event.

There are two accommodations within walking distance:

Lafayette Inn, a nice bed and breakfast a few blocks from campus.

Grand Eastonian hotel, a nice hotel in downtown Easton, about a mile walk or drive from campus. (If walking, note that campus is 200 ft uphill from the Eastonian.) Try discount code "LAF".

There are additional hotels within short driving distance listed here: Lafayette nearby hotel list.

Parking

The Lafayette campus has plenty of free parking. No permit is required. Please park in the Markle Parking Deck (Google Map), labeled on campus signs as visitor/admissions parking. It is a 2 minute walk from Hugel Science Center. The Markle deck never fills up, but if it did, there is backup parking down the road at the Sullivan Parking Deck (Google Map).

Getting to Easton

Airports

The closest airport is Allentown (Lehigh Valley International Airport), about a 20 minute drive from campus. It has a limited number of flights, mostly to major hubs (Chicago, Detroit, Atlanta, etc.). If you live near a hub, or if you have to make a connection anyway, it may be a good choice. The easiest way from the airport to hotel/campus is via rental car, although Taxi/Uber is also an option.

The next-closest airport is Newark, about an hour away. Newark is a hub for United and has many flights worldwide. The easiest way from Newark to hotel/campus is via rental car, although there is also a bus service with about eight buses/day between Newark airport and downtown Easton (see below).

Philadelphia International Airport is about 1.5 hours away and may be an option if flight schedules are more convenient or flights happen to be cheaper. Philadelphia is a hub for American. The only practical way from Philadelphia International Airport to hotel/campus is via rental car.

Buses form/to New York City (and Newark airport)

Trans-Bridge Lines (www.transbridgelines.com) runs about 20 buses a day between New York City (Port Authority Bus Terminal) and downtown Easton. There are buses throughout the day, but the schedule is heaviest during hours appropriate for people commuting to New York City. The bus takes around 1.5 hours depending on the time of day. On their website, look for schedules "to NYC PABT" and "from NYC PABT." They also run limited service between Newark airport and Easton. The Trans-Bridge Lines stop in Easton is downtown, a few blocks from the Grand Eastonian Hotel, and about 1 mile from campus (uphill).

There is limited bus service to/from Easton by other providers (e.g., Greyhound).

There is no train service to Easton. The only way to connect to Amtrak is to take Amtrak to New York Penn Station, walk/taxi/subway a few blocks to the Port Authority Bus Terminal, and take a bus from there to Easton.

Contact

If you have any questions about the meeting, David Nice (webpage) with any questions about the meeting.