ACTION: Follow up with UMd on SOW for Casa Carma filler/pathway
WHO: JHibbard
DUE: 1/07/09
DONE:
ACTION: Generate streamlined description of Richer ALMA PRC document for ANASAC
WHO: AWotten
DUE: 12/08/09
DONE:
ACTION: Assign ANASAC charge to review Richer ALMA PRC document and provide written comment by Jan 9.
WHO: CLonsdale
DUE: 12/08/09
DONE:
ACTION: Send ASAC report on ALMA Development to Carilli for inclusion in NRAO Decadal white paper
WHO: AWootten
DUE: 12/07/09
DONE:
ACTION: Send NRAO Decadal white-paper to Wootten
WHO: CCarilli
DUE: 12/07/09
DONE:
ACTION: Call meeting to discuss wording for ALMA development in NRAO Decadal white paper
WHO: AWootten
DUE: 1/07/09
DONE:
ACTION:
WHO:
DUE: 1/07/09
DONE:
Agenda
NAASC News (Hibbard)
Any news on our advertised positions? We reviewed. If anyone hears of anyone who applied for one of our jobs, tell Carol so she can check that materials were received. Does OSAA go outside of HR? JH confirmed that they do.
Helpdesk document turned over from JH to AE Oct 15.
Much work on getting JAO budget for 2009+ approved.
No progress on effort to write SOW with UMd to write pathlength for Carma data into CASA. AI on JH to follow up on this
ALMA Milestones: What milestones can we say in public? SciOps is reporting the following at AAER next mo BG said that these are the same milestones that Thijs showed at computing review:
Start of CSV (3 ant at AOS): Nov 2009
Early Science Decision Point/Call for Proposals: Nov 2010
Early Science Start: July 2011
In response to revised JAO milestones and NSF "continuing resolution" funding for at least the start of FY09, the NAASC plans to (1) delay CSV support trips to Chile until the Fall; (2) delay archive support till FY2010; (3) encourage later start dates for currently advertised positions (CSV2, casa developer) and postpone other planned hires (web developer, EPO specialist, archive techs). To be discussed in detail at SciOpsIPT f2f meeting Jan12-14 in Santiago. If CR continues, may also defer tutorials, f2f meetings, workshops until FY2010.
Fred released Richer committee document on suggested ALMA Proposal Review process. NAASC had a quick review of this on 11/24. Summary ppt generated by JH. AW, CL, JH met with FL on Monday 12/1 to finalize NRAO viewpoint & Fred sent to NAOJ & ESO directors saying they should solicit regional input. AW will write streamlined summary of process for ANASAC, and CL will assign charge to ANASAC on behalf of Fred to give written input on process by Jan 11-13 f2f meeting of ARC managers, who will then create a revised draft.
Project News (Wootten) A view from the newly completed holography tower No. 2 toward the Operations Support Facility. Seven Vertex antennas and four Mitsubishi Electric Company (Melco) antennas (left foreground) are now on the site, with six visible in the panorama above. Four others are erected in the Vertex Site Erection Facility (SEF), the building in the left background. Nearby two Vertex antennas are being tested just outside the building. Inside the SEF, one antenna awaits assembly. Four Melco antennas lie in front of the Vertex complex. In the immediate left foreground, an area is being prepared for the first AEM antennas, expected to arrive from Europe soon. To the right is the Operation Support Facility Technical Building complex, now being readied for the arrival of the first of the production antennas. A transporter will move the antenna, expected to be Melco No 2 (second from right of the four in the picture) to the courtyard at the OSF TB, center right. The transporters can be seen in their shelter, to the right and above the courtyard.
Agreement with Taiwan
Decadal Survey Comittee named, vdBout a member
FIR/Submillimeter Astronomy from Space draft circulating.
ALMA Development draft presented to Board. Al wants to make sure ALMA development gets to decadal review in some form. He should send to Carilli committee (NRAO whitepaper), and Carilli should send him what they have written. Al also wishes to call a meeting to discuss how to promote ALMA development. Thats 3 new AIs.
Status Report
The 12th contractor's antenna (Vertex No 8) arrived at the OSF on 27 November.
Antennas: Melco No 2 in shared use with AIV. Conditional acceptance expected in Dec. Vertex No 1 has completed Surface tests: metrology systems being worked on. Acceptance likely to be in February 2009.
Front Ends: The first "engineering model" has been installed in Melco No 2. Delivery - the second "engineering model" front-end is under test in Taiwan and should be shipped to Chile by end of 2008. Third from EU FEIC in Feb '09.
Correlator: Assembly of the first quadrant at the AOS has been completed and a full set of tests passed succesfully.
Software: Overall external review 17-23 Nov; preliminary report in.
Systems: New group under Nick Whyborn now active. Developing detailed procedures for testing and verification of systems requirements.
Patch 3 out. Needed ~3days of effort from everyone. Got none. Crystal did all the work again. This has to change.
ObsPrep (incl. ObsTool=OT) (Harvey)
Andy Biggs (EU ARC) replaces L. Testi as subsystem test scientist for OT.
Internal test at ATF before shut down on Dec20. Andy, Deb, Leonardo, Alan Bridger
Established at Nov12 eSSR meeting that OT is supposed to link to archive for databases (both calibrators and spectral line), but this is not yet active.
Casapy simulator (Remy)
Remy is working on canned demo for Jan AAS, then will update wiki.
Tony sent out progress against "Focus Group" recommendations on 10/23. Have contracted with programmer to do display. Tony working on getting other material in. See Oct agenda for priorities
Established at Nov12 eSSR meeting that OT is supposed to get spectral lines from archive, but this is turned off. Archive will get spectral line list from splatalog
Webpages (Aaron)
Are links to alma.nrao.edu replace with almaobservatory.org? Add links that AL cares about (site, memos, historic stuff) off of alma.nrao.edu to naasc web?
Good place to do interviews for jobs - Carol will take charge of that.
NAASC Workshops (Aaron)
Has narrower scope been defined by SOC? Who is on SOC? Wiki setup? All in progress. Aaron will notify us when it is settled
N~150 at Omni in the Fall. Maybe even b2b w/Jan AAS in DC?
Upcoming Science Meetings: (Al)
One of the special sessions for the 5-7 Jan 2009 URSI commission J meeting in Boulder, Colorado will be on "ALMA Technology, Science and Status". See attachment to last months agenda
Millimeter and Submillimeter Astronomy at High Angular Resolution June 8-12 2009 ASIAA