Senior Review of NSF Facilities NOAO Users Committee October 4, 2005

1. Senior Review of NSF Facilities NOAO Users Committee October 4, 2005

2. http://www.nsf.gov/mps/ast/ast_senior_review.jsp • MEMBERSHIP -- Senior Review Committee • Chair - Dr. Roger Blandford, Kavli Institute for Particle Astrophysics & Cosmology, Stanford U • We have requested suggestions for membership from members of the community, advisory committees, such as the Astronomy and Astrophysics Advisory Committee (AAAC) and the Committee on Astronomy and Astrophysics (CAA), the AAS, and the facilities managers and directors. • We have received many nominations, and are in the process of convening the committee. We expect membership to be finalized shortly, and will post it here when complete.

3. Goal of the Senior Review • examine the balance of NSF investments • enable progress on recommendations of Decade Survey, including • operations funds for ALMA, • other priorities. • preserve & grow healthy core program of astronomical research. • seed the next generation of capability, and • attract, train, and retain the next generation of astronomical researchers • Charge to the committee TBA

4. What will the $30M/year be spent on ? • operations funds for ALMA • $24M/year, US share • other priorities • not defined yet • guess: • GSMT Design & Development needs $8M/year • Gemini Aspen instruments need $7M/year (US share) • LSST Design & Development (already funded) • NVO Operations (already funded) • “Committee not advising on expenditure” • Priorities are those of the Decadal Survey

5. SCHEDULE • several meetings through the fall and winter • final recommendation/report to NSF spring2006 • first meeting October 19,20 at NSF, closed. • committee will consider material observatories have provided and be presented with several scenarios developed by NSF. • Directors of the national observatories will be present for brief sessions to answer questions and provide clarifying background information. • second meeting in December or January • perhaps with a public session with an opportunity for community input. • final meeting several months later (April) • committee => final recommendations and report

6. TOWN MEETINGS • NSF will hold a number of ‘town meetings’ • to provide an opportunity for NSF staff to • interact with the community, answer questions, • listen to concerns, observations, and suggestions • meet one-on-one with interested individuals. • Boston, Massachusetts - 29 September 2005 • Minneapolis, Minnesota - 7 October 2005 • Washington, DC - 14 October 2005 • Clemson, South Carolina – 15 October 2005 • Boulder, Colorado – 24 October 2005 • Berkeley, California - December 2005, • Washington, DC, AAS Mtg 8-12 January 2006        

7. COMMUNITY INPUT • NSF welcomes constructive input to deliberations of senior review committee. astsenior-review@nsf.gov • Over the next few months, we expect to formulate some questions for the community to address. We look forward to your response. • Contributions from national facilities to the senior review are public, posted at • http://www.naic.edu/  for NAIC, • http://www.noao.edu/dir/seniorreview/  for NOAO, • http://www.nrao.edu/  for NRAO, • http://www.nso.edu/senior_review/  for NSO • http://www.aura-astronomy.org/nv/nuresult.asp?nuid=97   for Gemini.

8. NOAO is approaching the goal of investing 25% of program plan funds in decadal survey initiatives—even without including TSIP. The Senior Review’s announced purpose is to re-direct $30M out of $120M in AST facilities funding to these projects. The transition plan presented here is intended to realize NOAO’s share of that goal. NSF Senior Review of Astronomy Facilities

9. NOAO submission to NSF Senior Review • There is a very strong science case for OIR facility based astronomy in the coming decades • The optimum (economical) approach for NSF is to fund a non-redundant OIR system • NOAO is already doing its share to create an accessible system of 1 to 30 meter OIR telescopes • A transition plan is presented which retains 50% share of the four meters for peer reviewed access through 2011 • backed by AURA Observatories Council and • NOAO Users Committee • Performance metrics for oversubscription, publication, citation, and broader impacts are strong

11. Refereed publications

12. Details of unique wide field and infrared capabilities

13. Planned development of unique wide field and infrared capabilities

14. Last week’s request for info – all centersProgram Plan funds FY05

15. What would be a good outcome for NOAO ? • NRAO pays for ALMA operations • radio/OIR firewall/levy leaks but doesn’t burst -- not in the charge • NOAO’s $1.4M/year offering is recycled • AURA GSMT (#1 in decadal survey) gains 4 x $0.5 M/year from our rich siblings

16. Epilog economist J.K. Galbraith: politics is not the art of the possible. Rather it consists of choosing between what is disastrous and what is merely unpalatable