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Twelfth Chris Engelbrecht Summer School in Theoretical Physics

27 January to 5 February 1999

Devon Valley Hotel, Stellenbosch, South Africa

The twelfth Chris Engelbrecht summer school in Theoretical Physics
is sponsored by the South African Foundation for Research Development (FRD) and is supported by the South African Institute of Physics and the Organisation of Theoretical Physicists.

[Series of Summerschools Homepage]  [Summerschool 2001] [Summerschool 2002]

Time and Venue

The school will take place from Wednesday, 27 January to Friday, 5 February at the Devon Valley Protea Hotel situated 6 km outside Stellenbosch, Western Cape, South Africa.

Theme

Sandpiles, Random Systems and Random Walks: Analytic methods and simulation

Course Lecturers and Topics

P Bak, Niels Bohr Institute, Copenhagen, Denmark 
'Self-organised criticality in physics and elsewhere'

D Dhar, Tata Institute, Mumbai, India 
'The sandpile model of self-organized criticality'

P M Goldbart, University of Illinois, USA
'Rubber, glass and other amorphous solids: a statistical mechanical view'

P Grassberger, Juelich and BUGH Wuppertal, Germany
'Self-avoiding walks:from the renormalization group to proteins'

B Huckestein, University of Cologne, Germany
'Localization-delocalization transitions'

K Mueller-Nedebock, University of Mainz, Germany
'Random interactions in polymers'

R M Ziff, University of Michigan, USA
'Percolation'

Format

About 40 one-hour lectures will be presented in English.  There will also be opportunity for short presentations/posters. 

Participation

The course is a graduate school aimed primarily at theoretical physicists and postgraduate students interested in broadening their knowledge of the field.  Experimental physicists with an interest in the field are, however, also encouraged to take part. In contrast to previous schools in this series, the present school aims to be interdisciplinary in character.  Therefore participants from fields outside Physics are welcome.  We do, however, expect all participants to have a suitable background in the natural sciences or engineering.

Students

Funds are available to support a number of bona fide local full-time students.   Interested students are encouraged to apply as soon as possible.  It is envisaged that the successful candidates will be subsidised up to 60% of their total accommodation costs.  Applications for a subsidy should include a letter of recommendation from the Head of the Department or thesis advisor and should be sent to Prof. F G Scholtz at the secretariat address below. Unfortunately it is not possible to subsidise travelling costs.

Accommodation

The Devon Valley Protea Hotel is a three star hotel, surrounded by  8 hectares of its own vineyards, situated  6 km outside the historic town of Stellenbosch.   Within a 20 minute drive to Cape Town International Airport and 35 minutes to central Cape Town and the Waterfront, the hotel offers a beautiful view over the Cape Winelands and the Helderberg Mountains.  The hotel has a swimming pool, jacuzzi and offers the opportunity to play Petanque (the ancient French game played with metal balls) as well as golf at the nearby Devon Vale Golf Course. Wine tastings and musical performances can be arranged.  There are also several hiking trials in the Stellenbosch environment. More information on Stellenbosch and the surroundings can be found at
http://www.africa.com:80/wcape/wine/stell.htm

A provisional booking of single and double rooms has been made.  All rooms have private bathrooms, telephones, radios and satellite TV.  

Students who are unable to obtain the financial support (including subsidy from the school) to stay at the hotel, can be accommodated elsewhere if they wish, although we would like to limit this to the minimum for logistical reasons.  Participants who prefer not to stay in the hotel, but in nearby guesthouses or hotels are requested to contact them directly to make reservations.  Do note, however, that such persons will still have to pay a daily conference rate of R60 which includes lunch, refreshments during tea-breaks and use of the facilities.  Unfortunately the secretariat of the school cannot accept responsibility for individual reservations at other guesthouses or hotels.  A list of some guesthouses and hotels can be found at http://www.stellenboschvillage.com.   For a greater variety of options the tourist information office can be contacted at:

Since the hotel offers a limited number of 35 single and double rooms, we cannot guarantee that individual accommodation preferences will be fulfilled, and it may be necessary to accommodate some participants elsewhere.  In such cases only will the secretariat shoulder the responsibility to find alternative accommodation and to provide transport to and from the conference venue.   We cannot, however, guarantee that the rates will be as favorable as those negotiated at the conference venue. 

Transport

A shuttle service from Cape Town International Airport and Cape Town Railway station will be provided on arrival and departure.  Please indicate your requirements in this regard on the registration form.

During the school, transport will be available between Stellenbosch and the school venue for those participants that are not accommodated in the hotel.

Costs

Registration fee

The registration fee includes course documentation

Accommodation
A special school package is offered to participants.

Accommodation includes three meals as well as refreshments during tea-breaks.

Daily Conference Rates

R60 per person per day

Deposits

Registration can only be finalised upon payment of the registration fee and the following deposits are required to secure accommodation in the hotel:

The closing date for payment of registration and deposit is December 15, 1998.

Payment

Participants resident in South Africa can pay by personal cheque.   Foreign participants should please pay by bank draft or bank transfer (in US dollars).   All cheques and bank drafts should be made payable to 'Theoretical Physics Summer School '99'.  For bank transfers refer to the following information:

If payment is made by bank transfer, a copy of the transfer instruction should be faxed to the secretariat at +27-21-8083385.

Call for contributions

Provision will be made for a limited number of oral presentations by participants.   If you intend to make a presentation, please indicate so on the registration form.  A title and abstract should be sent by e-mail to the chairman of the organising committee at fgs@sunvax.sun.ac.za not later than December 15, 1998. If necessary, a poster session will be arranged to accommodate contributions not selected for oral presentation.

Registration

Interested persons should register by completing the online registration form.  A reference number will then be assigned which can be used to update and finalise the registration at a later stage.  The closing date for registration and payment of deposits is December 15, 1998.  The balance on accommodation costs is payable during the school.

Preliminary Program

Download excel spreadsheet to view program.

Organising Committee

Secretariat

Mrs J A de Waal
Department of Physics
Private Bag X1
7602 Matieland
South Africa

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