ALMA ALMA North American Science Advisory Committee Telecon Phone Meeting 2007, July 13

Contact Information

  • Call date: 2007-07-13 14:00 EDT or 18:00 UT (Friday)
  • Duration: 1 hr
  • USA Number: 1-866-675-5385
  • Outside USA Number: +1 517 444 6916
  • Passcode: 8445333#
  • Leaders: Jon Williams, J. Hibbard


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Attendance

ANASAC Members (Attendees in RED):

* Andrew Baker (Rutgers) (2008)
  • John Bally (U. Colorado) (2008)
  • Andrew Blain (Caltech) (2007)
  • Xiaohui Fan (U. Az.) (2007)
  • Paul Ho (CfA, Harvard) (2008)
* Kelsey Johnson (UVa) (2009)
  • Doug Johnstone (HIA/DAO, Victoria) (2007)
  • Lee Mundy (U. Md) (2007) -- rotated off
* Jaqueline van Gorkom (Columbia) (2009)
  • Gordon Stacey (Cornell) (2009)
  • Alycia Weinberger (DTM) (2009)
* Jonathan Williams, Chair (U. Hawaii) (2008)
  • Christine Wilson (McMaster U.) (2007)
  • Mel Wright (UC Berkeley) (2008)
(Bold = Member of ASAC)

NRAO: * J. Hibbard
  • A. Wootten
  • C. Carilli
  • Brogan

Agenda

1) Action Items (Hibbard)

Minutes of 27 April 2007 meeting. Approved
Open action items:

  • ACTION: Future science meetings
    • WHO: All
    • Due: June 07
    • Done: Charge for F-F

  • ACTION: Doug should contact Mark Adams about Canadian Brochure
    • WHO: Doug Johnstone
    • Due: June 07
    • Done: Done

  • ACTION: Review membership and chair
    • WHO: Carilli, ANASAC
    • Due: face-to-face
    • Done: Done

  • ACTION: Get further input on NSF reaction to Grants
    • WHO: Carilli, Baker, Russell
    • Due: need for F-F
* Done: Carilli will get what he can, perhaps via A. Russell

Bally -- several prongs:

ANASAC report ++ ?

Users committee report

AUI Futures -- NSF letter

AURA letter to ?

Bally -- optical/IR community for AAS newsletter

3) Update on NAASC activities (Carilli)

Mainly workshop, plus preparation for a few new hires toward end of 2007 (EPO, CSV, other), plus standard reporting (UC, VC, AUI, NSF...). Continued S/W testing and starting involvement in ATF testing.

4) Update on ASAC (Mundy)

  • ASAC Web Page See 11 Jul 2007 Agenda
    • JAO Response to ASAC Report
    • New Charges from Board, to be reported upon at 30-31 October 2007 meeting in Santiago.
      • Software status for early science. review recommendations of recent software review and schedule.
      • Revisit charge from Apr2007 on correlator requirements. Focus on Early science, which modes enable majority of science? What other capabilities are important?
      • Review calibration plan in conjunction with AIV and CSV activities.

Johnstone -- AOP needs response finalized. one stop shopping for ALMA jobs. OSF cranking along. 3 japanese antennas in OSF july. band 7,9 production contracts done. band 3 has some mechanical issues for integration. Computing IPT takes over ATF until end May 08. ASAC role during project scientist?

5) Charges (Williams)

See supplementary material.

Williams -- let us avoid details, but set up committees. Lots of action on grants program (see above). Very timely. workshop -- please consider and discuss with colleagues. membership -- please recommend to NRAO. Also, do we invite HST, SSC... members.

Subcommittees should be established.

The ANASAC should finalize material and presentations required from NRAO.

Hibbard -- splatalog presentation? 10min Carilli -- other presentations?

Bally -- casa demo would be good. part of S/W presentation.

Baker -- new asac charges? part of asac presentation?

Williams will arrange subcommittees by next week.

6) ALMA Workshops (Brogan)

Organization was amazing. Science was very exciting, and very much alma oriented. Discussion led to many ideas and potential uses of ALMA. Overall, was very much consistent with the principle for the meetings of getting the community both aware, and geared up, for alma.

7) ALMA Science IPT Science IPT concerns. (Wootten)

Report from project scientist to board. project review in santiago in sept ops and construction. some meetings coming up.

8) Date of face-to-face

  • Date of face to face is August 17, 2007 in Charlottesville (see supplemental material for agenda)

Need travel arrangements.

Supplemental Material

Charges to the ANASAC from NRAO and the NAASC

CHARGE I. User Grants program: This charge continues from previous meetings. We repeat the original charge, but revise the specific issues to be addressed at the meeting, based on the subsequent ANASAC discussions.

Previous charge: the grants program is a recommended priority by the decadal committee. NRAO can act as an advocate for the community in this regard, but the real impetus must come from the community. The Grants should not be considered funding for NRAO, but should be considered funding for support for community use of ALMA. Does the community want a grants-with-observing time program associated with ALMA? What is a reasonable starting amount for such a program?

Result from previous ANASAC deliberations: The ANASAC has endorsed a User grants program with ALMA time, and has written a detailed report recommending: (i) a funding request level ($6M/year 2006 dollars), (ii) funding guidelines, and (iii) two potential funding models for the NSF. See the ANASAC report:

http://www.cv.nrao.edu/naasc/admin.shtml#2006f2f

NRAO thanks the ANASAC for their previous efforts. The ANASAC has made this issue a priority, and this new charge reflects their desire to continue discussion of the issue. In particular, the ANASAC will address the following two issues:

1. Clarification of NSF policy and potential models that are acceptable to the NSF, subsequent to the NSF ALMA operations review?

2. User community advocacy of a grants program: Coordination with astronomers who use other NSF facilities (e.g. EVLA, current and future large OIR projects)? Use of the AAS as a means of communication?

CHARGE II: Terms of Reference for ANASAC. The primary roles of the ANASAC, according to the current terms of reference (http://www.cv.nrao.edu/~awootten/mmaimcal/anasac/ANASACTermsofReference.pdf), are:

1. A conduit of communication for ALMA project status to a broad User base.

2. Input to the NAASC on User support and science issues in North America.

An issue that has arisen in the latest ANASAC meetings is the question of the interaction between the ASAC and the ANASAC -- should the ANASAC provide more input to the North American members of the ASAC on charges to the ASAC from the ALMA Board? This duty is not currently in the ANASAC terms of reference. Does the ANASAC want to expand its role to include a closer connection to the ASAC and the ASAC charges? Note that this would be in addition to the existing NRAO terms requesting that the ANASAC provide detailed input into North American ALMA User-related and science issues.

CHARGE III. Science workshop 2008 -- The NAASC would like to continue the successful series of science workshops relating to ALMA in 2008. The ANASAC is asked to suggest a timely science topic for such a meeting in 2008, and to suggest members of the Scientific Organizing Committee.

CHARGE IV. Membership -- The ANASAC is asked to recommend new members to replace those rotating off the committee and to elect a new chair to start after the face to face meeting in August, 2007. Andrew Baker and Andrew Blain have each been nominated and a vote will be taken.

Preliminary schedule for the August 17, 2007 meeting:

* 08:00 - 08:15 Closed Session

* 08:15 - 08:30 Welcome from Fred Lo

* 08:30 - 09:30 Project Status (Russell, Glendenning?) o Construction (30min) o Software status (30min)

* 09:30 - 10:00 ALMA operations and the NAASC (Carilli)

* 10:00 - 10:15 ASAC report (Mundy [TBC])

* 10:15 - 10:30 Break

* 10:30 - 12:00 Charge I: Grants (Williams/subcommittee)

* 12:00 - 13:00 Lunch

* 13:00 - 13:30 Charge II: Terms of Reference and ASAC input (Williams/Subcommittee)

* 13:30 - 14:00 Charge III: Science workshop 2008 (Williams/subcomittee)

* 14:00 - 14:15 Charge IV: Select new ANASAC Chair (Williams/subcommittee)

* 14:15 - 14:30 Break

* 14:30 - 16:00 Closed session, draft report

* 16:00 - 16:30 Summary of draft report to NRAO Director (Williams)

* 16:30 - close.

-- ChrisCarilli - 13 Jul 2007
Topic revision: r1 - 2007-07-13, ChrisCarilli
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