Dear friends,

I am very pleased to announce that we are ready to receive applications for the Vatican Observatory Summer School 2012 (3 - 29 June).

The school will be held for the second time in the new facilities of the Vatican Observatory in Castel Gandolfo. Applications should be submitted via web (http://www.voss2012.va/). And the deadline for submitting applications is 31 October 2011!!! Much earlier!!! The reason for this change is that takes longer to obtain an Italian visa.

I am very grateful Douglas Heggie, (Chair, University of Edinburgh, United Kingdom), and to the faculty: Francesca D’Antona (INAF-Osservatorio Astronomico di Roma, Italy), Nate Bastian (VOSS03, Excellence Cluster Universe, Munich, Germany), and Mark Gieles (VOSS03, University of Cambridge, United Kingdom) for organizing an excellent academic program. I am also grateful to David Brown, S.J., from our staff, for accepting to serve as dean of the school.

The topic is "The Formation and Evolution of Stellar Clusters: From Star Cluster Ecology to Tracers of Galaxy Evolution".

For more information, please visit our website: http://www.voss2012.va/.

Please spread the word and encourage your students to apply.

José G. Funes, S.J.