The Royal Astronomical Society’s 25th National Astronomy Meeting (NAM2017: www.nam2017.org) will be hosted by the E.A. Milne Centre for Astrophysics (www.milne.hull.ac.uk), at the University of Hull, 2-6 July 2017, and incorporating both the UK Solar Physics (UKSP) and Magnetosphere, Ionosphere and Solar-Terrestrial (MIST) meetings. The NAM2017 programme will include 6 Plenary Lectures and two exciting public events, all held in conjunction with the spectacular UK City of Culture (www.hull2017.co.uk) programme.

The NAM2017 programme will include slots for roughly 40 Parallel Sessions of adjustable duration and format, with further sessions in the programme dedicated for poster viewing, special interest group lunches, and break-out meeting space for those looking to establish new collaborative links.

On behalf of the NAM2017 SOC we would like to invite from the community, nominations for Parallel Sessions for the 2017 meeting. Nominations are welcomed for any topic of research area considered relevant to the NAM, UKSP, and MIST. Particularly welcomed would be nominations likely to have broad cross-community appeal.

At this stage, and prior to 19 Dec at 5pm UK time, nominees for Parallel Sessions are requested to submit to the SOC the following information by e-mail (nam2017@hull.ac.uk):

1. Theme and provisional title of parallel session

2. Brief (i.e., no more than a few sentences) rationale for its nomination

3. Name(s) and e-mail address(es) of the session organiser(s)

4. Proposed duration (i.e., how many 1.5-hour blocks?) and justification.

5. Size of the anticipated audience

6. Any special requirements

The SOC will be pleased to consider nominations for multiple parallel sessions, i.e., 2 or more sessions with a linked theme that could run across several days of the NAM programme. The SOC also particularly welcomes nominations for themes that are regarded as timely, e.g. relating to current or upcoming missions.

Session nominations can be submitted from today, via email to nam2017@hull.ac.uk, up until 5pm UK time on 19 December 2016. The NAM 2017 SOC anticipate announcing the full programme, including successful Parallel Session bids, by mid-January 2017.

Details concerning the forthcoming programme will be posted over the coming 1-2 months at www.nam2017.org and via the usual RAS newsletter and @RASNAM2017 twitter feed.

For any general questions and queries please contact nam2017@hull.ac.uk