ALMA North American Science Advisory Committee Telecon
Face to Face meeting September 12, 2008
- Call date: 2008-09-12 08:30 EDT or 14:30 UT (Friday)
- Duration: 8 hr
- USA Number: 1-866-675-5385
- Outside USA Number: +1 517 444 6916
- Passcode: 8445333#
- Leaders: A. Baker, C. Carilli
The Operations Support Facility Technical Complex. Photo by A. Beelen.
Two Vertex antennas (no 1 and no 2) outside the Site Erection Facility.
A Transporter appears to run over an antenna. Photo by A. Beelen. See
other images and animations.
See
other images.
Attendance
ANASAC Members (
Attendees in RED):
- Andrew Baker (Rutgers) (2008) [Chair]
- John Bally (U. Colorado) (2008)
- Andrew Blain (Caltech) (2008) (ASAC Vice Chair, NA)
- Mike Fall (Space Telescope Science Institute) (2010)
- Tim Heckman (Johns Hopkins) (2010)
- Shardha Jogee (U. Texas) (2010)
- *Kelsey Johnson* (U. Virginia) (2009)
- Doug Johnstone (HIA/DAO, Victoria) (2008)
- J. Xavier Prochaska (Lick Observatory) (2010)
- Hsien Shang (ASIAA) (2011)
- Gordon Stacey (Cornell) (2009)
- Alycia Weinberger (DTM) (2009)
- Jonathan Williams (U. Hawaii) (2008)
- Mel Wright (UC Berkeley) (2008)
(
Bold = Member of ASAC)
NRAO:
- J. Hibbard
- A. Wootten
- C. Carilli
- C. Brogan
- A. Russell
- F. Lo
- A. Evans
- C. Lonsdale
- J. Stoke
Other Attendees
Agenda
1) 08:30 - 08:45 Closed Session
2) 08:45 - 09:15 Welcome from NRAO Director and discussion of role of ANASAC in global context (F. Lo)
3) 09:15 - 09:40 Project Status - construction (Russell/Wootten)
3) 09:40 - 10:00 ALMA operations and the NAASC (Carilli/Hibbard)
4) 10:00 - 10:15 Break
5) 10:15 - 11:00 (other) ASAC Charges (ASAC members; Wootten)
7) 11:00 - 11:15 Update on 2008 NAASC workshop and planning for 2009 (Evans)
8) 11:15 - 12:00 ANASAC Charge 1 (Subcommittee/Baker)
ASAC Charge on science input into development plan
See supplemental material below
9) 12:00 - 13:00 Lunch
10) 13:00 - 13:40 Other ANASAC concerns (large programs, coordination with JWST, etc.)
11) 13:40 - 14:20 ANASAC Charge 3 (Baker/subcommittee)
NSF PI grants program and pre-ALMA science support
See supplemental material below
11) 14:20 - 15:00 ANASAC Charge 4 (Baker/subcommittee/Russell)
Future of ATF antenna
See supplemental material below
12) 15:00 - 15:15 Break
13) 15:15 - 16:45 Closed session
Membership: Select new ANASAC Chair (Baker/subcommittee)
Draft Report
14) 16:45 - 17:00 Summary of draft report to NRAO (Baker)
Supplemental Material
ANASAC Charges for Sept 12, 2008 Face to Face
- Charge 1. The ANASAC has a standing charge to review the latest ASAC charges, and provide input to the ASAC members. We ask that the ANASAC pay particular to attention to the charge in which the JAO is asking the ASAC to take a prominent role in defining the scientific priorities for the ALMA development plan. Please discuss and recommend how the ANASAC can facilitate a mechanism to solicit the inputs and interests of the North American community and make sure the ASAC deliberations encompass the needs of the NA community.
Ten people have been invited to serve on this committee, balanced by partner and scientific interest; still waiting for responses. Formal charge is to provide a progress report to Board in November with a final report to be delivered in 2009. Because urgency is higher on the U.S. side, based on the desire to feed a development science case to the Decadal Review before the end of 2008 (a la SOFIA), plan is to kick off a series of telecons that culminate in a F2F meeting in October. Development discussion at NAASC workshop may thus be helpful. Wootten is actively brainstorming science drivers for the development case.
Volunteers for F2F preparation: Baker, Blain, Weinberger
- Charge 2. Please organize the NAASC science workshop for 2009.
2008 workshop:
http://www.cv.nrao.edu/php/meetings/massive08/
2009 workshop: Distant galaxies (MORE HERE -- SOC, TITLE)
- Charge 3. Continuation of interim charge II from January: "The NRAO asks the ANASAC to consider the issue of stimulating research in preparation for the use of ALMA, e.g., wide-field surveys to identify interesting targets, laboratory work on astro-chemistry, or theoretical work on star and galaxy formation, and how such preparatory research before ALMA is operational can be funded, as well as recommending avenues by which the NRAO or other organizations could promote such efforts." In light of the recent suggestion from the NSF/AST Division to convene a dedicated panel to review PI proposals on ALMA-preparatory work, we would like to separate this charge into 2 parts:
- 3A. Finalize the current ANASAC response to the charge: "The NRAO asks the ANASAC to consider the issue of stimulating research in preparation for the use of ALMA, e.g., wide-field surveys to identify interesting targets, laboratory work on astro-chemistry, or theoretical work on star and galaxy formation, etc." Existing draft by Blain will probably require modest changes if any.
- 3B. In the context of the recent NSF/AST suggestion of dealing with ALMA-preparatory PI proposals, consider potential ways to inform the community and to stimulate the submission of ALMA-preparatory proposals in the upcoming round of NSF/AST call for PI Proposals in November 2008. Also consider whether this suggested approach would be a reasonable long-term method of instituting an ALMA User Grants program. Volunteers for F2F preparation: Heckman, Johnson, Prochaska, Williams. Carilli will check with NSF about official stand on separate ALMA-related review panels.
SEE CLARIFICATION EMAIL FROM PHIL PUXLEY BELOW
- Charge 4: The NRAO asks the ANASAC for considerations and suggestions on the potential use of the NA ALMA prototype antenna, once activities at the ATF terminate in Q3 2008. Three options have been proposed to date:
- A) Incorporate into the ALMA array: This is possible, but not easy. The antenna cannot be transported with the transporter nor can it sit on a standard foundation. It would in effect be a fixed antenna that must be maintained in situ at the high site, and hence be expensive to maintain. Likewise, it would require a major (costly) retrofit, on top of the cost of taking it apart, transporting, and reassembling in Chile.
- B) Sell it, and recycle the money back to ALMA, if a buyer can be found.
- C) Use it for ALMA-related science, ie. give it away to an institution that can ensure good science comes out, with access by all of the NA community. The two mm/submm arrays come to mind, but it is also a superb single dish and, on a superb sight, could do interesting science as well. The question is: how to be transparent and fair in deciding who gets it? The cost of transport and reassembly would be the responsibility of the receiving party. Volunteers for F2F preparation: Bally, Johnstone, Wright. Bally: more details are needed here-- costs of moving? operating? Precdent of 12m (sold for a token price to an institution that would continue to give access to U.S. scientific community) may be instructive. ESO antenna is being disposed of separately. This charge is coming in part due to queries from NSF.
Charge 3b: clarification email on NSF position on pre-ALMA PI grant proposals
Latest input from Phil Puxley at NSF:
Dear Fred
Sorry for the delay in replying, it took me a little while to pull
together comments for various interested parties.
Any 'ALMA preparatory' proposals should be submitted to AST's individual
investigator grants (AAG & ATI) competitions by the November deadlines
and will be considered in the broader context of the AAG and AST program
along with everything else we receive. The proposals can include any
technique e.g. observations, theory, laboratory, instrumentation. They
should be clearly identified as research in preparation for ALMA. They
will be evaluated on NSF's two review criteria: Intellectual Merit and
Broader Impacts. In all these regards they do not deviate from our
normal procedures and so this process does not need "formal adoption".
We will, however, tag and track these proposals, in part to assess the
level of interest and demand.
AST is not planning to make any specific announcement although at the
AAS town hall, this past June, Eileen did remind people that we received
proposals on any topic, including preparatory work for future
facilities, and used 'theory' and 'laboratory astrophysics for ALMA' as
examples. It is the responsibility of NRAO (and ANASAC) to get the word
out to the community.
Nothing has been decided with respect to ALMA observing proposals. The
"approach" we have been discussing applies only to ALMA preparatory
proposals at this time.
Regards
Phil
Some initial estimates of costs of retrofitting or moving ATF antennas
NEED FROM ADRIAN
--
ChrisCarilli - 03 Sep 2008
*
Sep08newsltr.pdf: Recent ALMA Construction News
*
Sep08newsltr.pdf: Recent ALMA Construction News
*
ANASACSep08.ppt: ALMA Construction Status