Dark Energy Camera Dedication at the Cerro Tololo Inter-American Observatory

On November 9, 2012, ceremonies on the summit of Cerro Tololo, Chile will mark the dedication of the Dark Energy Camera and the beginning of the 50th anniversary celebration of Cerro Tololo Inter-American Observatory (CTIO). Speakers will include David Silva (NOAO Director), Professor Joshua Frieman (Director of the Dark Energy Survey) and Ofer Lahav (UCL). Lahav will talk at the event about the international perspective of DES, on behalf of the non-US partners: the UK, Spain, Brazil, Germany and Switzerland. He chairs the Science Committee of the Dark Energy Survey (DES), as well as the DES:UK consortium which, in addition to UCL, includes the universities of Portsmouth, Cambridge, Sussex, Edinburgh and Nottingham. UCL has been involved in DES since its early days in 2004. UCL' s Optical Science Laboratory, led by Peter Doel, was responsible for putting together the Optical Corrector (supported by the STFC and universities funds). Drs Fillipe Abdalla and Sarah Bridle co-lead two of the Science Working Groups.