Invitation to the Fujihara seminar
"Progress in physics of the sun and stars: a new era in helio- and
asteroseismology"

Dear Colleagues,

This is the first announcement of "Progress in physics of the sun and
stars: a new era in helio- and asteroseismology", an international
conference dedicated to discussions of recent progress in helio- and
asteroseismology with emphases on their impacts on physics of the sun and
the stars. The conference is to take place in Hakone, Japan, from the 25th
to the 30th of November, 2012.

Following the first Oji Seminar on the subject in 1989, the second
conference was organized in March 2011, which was another successful event
but was held under the inescapable shadow of the 11-March Earthquake that
devastated Japan. We are pleased to have the opportunity to follow up that
event in November 2012 on the same venue, "The Prince Hakone", a hotel
sitting on the shore of Lake Ashi with a magnificent view of Mt. Fuji.

In helio- and asteroseismology, arguably more than in any other branches of
astrophysics, interactions between theorists and observers play a crucial
role in advancement of the subject. We live in a wonderful new era with
space missions such as Solar Dynamics Observatory, MOST, CoRoT, Kepler
operating, where observational data of unprecedent quality stimulate both
theoretical and observational efforts.

The prime purpose of the conference is to bring together researchers who
have been actively working in the field of helio- and
asteroseismology and related fields to share their latest results, to
discuss future approaches and to exchange various ideas.  How helpful is
helio- and asteroseismology in investigating the physical processes in the
stars? How useful is helio- and asteroseismology in unraveling various
kinds of unsolved problems in solar and stellar physics?  What new physics
has emerged from helio- and asteroseismology and what can be expected in
the future?

All the participants are supposed to stay in the same hotel, "The Prince
Hakone'',  during the seminar so that they can easily make informal
exchange of ideas in a relaxed atmosphere after the formal sessions.

We would like to encourage you to come to Hakone and join the discussion of
new results as well as of our future directions. If you intend to come,
please advise us by email to: shibahashi@astron.s.u-tokyo.ac.jp .
Please note that the capacity of the venue and other practical
considerations force us to limit the number of participants; priority will
have to go to those who expressed their intention to participate early.

Sincerely yours,

Hiromoto Shibahashi 
on behalf of the SOC

SOC: C. Aerts (Belgium),
L. Balona (South Africa),
T. Bedding (Australia),
J. Christensen-Dalsgaard (Denmark),
G. Fontaine (Canada),
L. Gizon (Germany),
J. Guzik (USA),
G. Houdek (Austria),
F. Hill (USA),
S. Jeffery (UK),
S. Kawaler (USA),
A.G. Kosovichev (USA),
D.W. Kurtz (UK),
G. Mathys (ESO),
P. Palle (Spain),
H. Shibahashi (Chair: Japan),
M. Thompson (USA),
S. Vauclair (France)