[kdd] Does 'Theoretical Astrophysics' Encompass Astroinformatics?

[Pepi Fabbiano]

I agree with Kirk's advise. Don't restrict yourself artificially at this 
point. Let the search committees do it.
Good luck. -pepi


 Kirk D Borne wrote:
> Nick:  I cannot speak for other programs or for general interpretations,
> but I can say that I fight very very very hard in my program to keep
> a hard distinction between Computational Science and Data Science.
> If I don't do this, then Data Science (informatics) will easily be
> absorbed into the former, hence lost forever, since the majority
> of computational scientists (e.g., "applied theoretical astrophysicists",
> if I can call them that) often don't see value in KDD, Data Science, 
> Machine Learning, etc. as a form of "theoretical" or "computational" science.
>
> So, I recommend that you continue to push the envelope, as you are doing,
> and try for those jobs (both "Theoretical" and "Observational"), since 
> your work truly bridges that historical gap.
>
> - Kirk
>
>   
>
> ------------------------------------------------------------------------
>
> Hi everyone,
>
> I am posting this question here because I believe it is relevant to 
> the broader context of KDD within astronomy, and to others in this 
> group who may run into the same issues.
>
> As a job applicant this fall (my funding at HIA is currently set to 
> run out July 2012), I have come across numerous adverts asking for 
> applications in 'theoretical astrophysics', or 'computational 
> astrophysics' (or both). My application is pitched in terms of my data 
> mining expertise, with application to science questions (e.g., the 
> galaxy luminosity function).
>
> The question is, does this fall within the purview of places asking 
> for 'theoretical astrophysics'? Since to me, the term generally means 
> either analytical work, or simulations, and data mining is equally 
> applicable to simulated data as well as the answer is yes. However, 
> institutions may not see it that way.
>
> And, for that matter, what about 'observational' astrophysics? My work 
> is closer to this, but does not generally require new telescope time, 
> so it may not be seen as 'observational', either.
>
> Obviously I can email individual places and ask them directly, but if 
> anyone has any comments or experiences with this, I would be most 
> happy to hear them.
>
> Thanks,
>
> Nick
>
> --
> Nick Ball
> Herzberg Institute of Astrophysics
> 5071 West Saanich Road
> Victoria, BC  V9E 2E7
> Canada
>
> https://sites.google.com/site/nickballastronomer
> nick.ball at nrc.cnrc.gc.ca <http://nrc.cnrc.gc.ca>
>
> ------------------------------------------------------------------------
>
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