NAASC Organizational Meeting: Wednesday Mar 5, 1-2:30pm ET (1800-1930UT), CV-ER311/TUC-N525/Soc280(SO-conf2)

Meeting Information

• Call date: 2008-03-05 (Wednesday)
• Call time 13:00 ET or 18:00 UT
• Duration: 1.5 hr
• Non toll-free number: 434-244-6834
• USA toll-free Number: 866-675-5385
• Outside USA Number: +1 517-444-6916
• Passcode: 8445333#
• Leader: Hibbard

Attendees

• CV: Indebetouw, Hunter, Brogan, Mangum, Remijan, Wootten, Hales, Hibbard
• Soc: Carilli, Myers, Reid, Glendenning
• GB:
• ATF:
• Canada:
• Tuc:

Action Items from past meetings (RED=OPEN)

• ACTION: Append Crystals email on beta testing priorities to last months agenda
  • WHO: J.Hibbard
  • DUE: Feb 7
  • DONE: Feb 7
  • NOTES: NaascMinutes2008Feb06
• ACTION: Send AOPverD milestones to James
  • WHO: J.Hibbard
  • DUE: Feb 7
  • DONE: Feb 7
  • NOTES:
• ACTION: Iterate with NRC on Canadian MOU
  • WHO: Carilli/di Francesco
  • DUE: End Feb
  • DONE: Feb 29
  • NOTES: now in NRC's court

• ACTION: Review NAASC webpage you are responsible for (see assignments) prior to monthly NAASC Org. Meeting
  • WHO: Everyone
  • DUE: prior to meeting
  • DONE:

Action Items from this meeting:

Agenda

• NAASC News (Carilli/Hibbard)
  • NAASC staffing: 1-2 CSV Liaison, CASA developer, EPO program manager. Interview/offer process is in full swing. AI: Hibbard needs to arrange office space for new hires. Meeting with TMiller 3/12.
  • Two Jansky Fellows coming to Charlottesville in the Fall: Stuart Corder & Brian Kent. Both are very interested in ALMA, and in participating in Commissioning. Kent has legit VO credentials.
  • f2f meeting of SciOpsIPT was in Charlottesville Feb 26-27. Main topics: set timeline for various implementation plans; writing implementation plans; getting ops requirements into computing systems; coordinate hiring. Hibbards' assignments for SciOpsIPT: helpdesk requirements & implementation plan (Gareth is helping with this); update Ops S/W requirements to AOPversD; write NA ARC implementation plan; NA Archive implementation plan. Next f2f meeting: May 15-16 in SCO. First meeting with de Grauuw.
  • Revision of Canadian MOU is in the works.
  • CFP for SIS development work has gone out. 30day tender. Should have bids by now, but TMiller out so will have to check later. Only one bid received, from UVML
  • NAASC Newsletter article due today. Edited and returned. Got articles also for workshop & splatalog
  • CASA testing for patch 1: will release as soon as blockers removed. Blockers include polcal, plotxy, mac build. Plotxy could use some testing. Also "fitorder" in imcontsub.

• Project News (Wootten)
  • The VertexRSI antenna No 3 for ALMA has its backup structure mated to the pedestal.
  • ATF Viability telecon
  • ASAC Report Overview
  • Current Science IPT Schedule. Current Operations Schedule. IPS Pictorial View(2008 Feb 29).
  • ALMA Biweekly Calendar
  • ALMA Construction Photogallery
  • Upcoming ATF schedule for the coming month (from ATF Science Support calendar: go to google calendar and search on "ATF Sci support"):
    • Rob: Mar 3-15
    • James: Mar 13-19
    • Antonio: Mar 27-Apr 6
    • Remy, Al: Apr 6-14

• ANASAC (Carilli)
  • New member from Tiawan added.
  • ANASAC needs to provide input to ASAC before the ASAC report goes to the Board on March 13.
  • Next telecon: Fri Mar14 2pm EDT.

• Main Event:
  • NAASC & NRAO Web page. New design. NAASC needs to spearhead use for science users. 1500hits/day for main page, 100/day science pages. Aaron and Chris will lead this effort, and produce a coordinated response. People should send important things directly to webtalk@nrao.edu.
  • First NAASC postdoc: short discussion. Carilli, Hibbard & Wootten should discuss this offline.
  • Archive: what is it? On-going discussion with IT, EVLA, CIPT. Main questions: where should archive go (are there economy of scales with co-locating)? Are there things we have budgeted for for ALMA that can benefit other efforts at NRAO? Strong opinion from this group: ALMA archive has to be local, unless it is demonstrated that transfer speeds are adequate. We plan on having proto-archive downstairs in computer area of 1st floor. This will be an NGAS rack plus a high-end machine with sufficient storate for all commissioning data, and with blazingly fast casa implementation, so we can use it to reduce commissioning data. Will purchase with FY08 dollars, so have in place by end of year.
  • Remy "script wiki" question Did not make it to this item

• Reports from Working Groups
  • Software Testing
    • Pipeline testing:
    • Offline testing: See above, under NAASC news
    • ObsTool. Preparations for next user test are underway.
    • Casapy simulator:
    • ALMA Archive:
  • Calibration Group (JeffMangum): Calibration
  • Imaging Group (AlWootten):
    • ALMA Science IPT wiki page
  • MM Calibrator/Spectral Line Databases (Tony Remijan)
  • Webpages (Tony Remijan):
    • New NRAO webpage is near beta release. Fred wants NAASC to pioneer science user outreach.
  • EPO (Adams)
    • We need revised ALMA EPO plan/staff ramp-up from Mark by Dec 15 THIS IS STILL NEEDED!!!
    • Deadline for April Newsletter is March 5.
    • Ad for ALMA EPO specialist Posted.
  • NAASC Workshops (Remy)
    • Massive Star Formation. SOC co-chairs=Remy & Andrew Baker.
    • Meeting website: http://www.cv.nrao.edu/php/meetings/massive08/
    • LOC wiki: https://wiki.nrao.edu/bin/view/ALMA/MassiveLOC (internal)
    • LOC first meeting yesterday Mar 4: https://wiki.nrao.edu/bin/view/ALMA/MassiveLOC2008Mar04
  • ALMA Meetings: (Wootten)
    • The Molecular Universe: an International Meeting on the Physics and Chemistry of the Interstellar Medium5-8 May, Arcachon, France. Who will go? Leonardo or Al?
    • Far-Infrared Astronomy from Space: A Community Workshop about the Future 28-30 May, Pasadena. Someone should go...
    • IAU Symposium 251 Organic Matter in Space Feb 18-22, Hong Kong
    • The Cosmic Agitator - Magnetic Fields in the Galaxy 2008 March 26-29 Lexington. Several to attend.
    • URSI General Assembly Aug 7-16, Chicago
    • Cosmic Dust Near and Far 8-12 Sept, Heidelberg
    • 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".
    • Other Meetings of interest listed at http://www.cv.nrao.edu/naasc/alma_meetings.shtml