Radio/Submm Implementation Planning Committee Minutes of telecon 04Nov01 Present: Geoff Blake, Don Campbell, John Carlstrom, Neal Evans, Martha Haynes, Jackie Hewitt, Ken Kellermann, Al Marscher, Jim Moran, Steve Myers, Mark Reid, Jack Welch 1. MH reviewed the background to the committee activity: -- NSF-AST plans a senior review of the AST program in spring 2005. The process for this review has not been announced. -- Last spring the NSF asked Jeremy Mould, the Director of NOAO, to propose a process of long range planning in ground based OIR (see the letter from Craig Foltz to Jeremy Mould at http://www.noao.edu/dir/lrplan/nsf_request.pdf). The resultant committee has a website: http://www.noao.edu/dir/lrplan/lrp-committee.html -- In Sept, MH, as then AUI Board Chair, asked the AUI EC to approve AUI stewardship of a complementary activity on behalf of radio/submm astronomy. This motion was approved and AUI approached the NSF with a proposal to use this committee, which consists of the members of the 2000 NRC AASC panel on radio and submillimeter astronomy, to carry out the activity. (Note added: MH's term as AUI Board chair expired Oct 22, 2004.) -- A letter from R. Dickman (NSF-AST) to then AUI President R. Giacconi formally requested that AUI steward the activity of this committee and outlined its aim within NSF's own strategic planning and the senior review. Excerpts of relevance from that letter can be found at: http://www.astro.cornell.edu/~haynes/rmspg/docs/rd2rg040927.txt -- E. Schreier, the new AUI President, responded to R. Dickman on Nov 01, 2004, accepting the NSF request with some caveats regarding limitations necessarily imposed on this activity which are summarized at: http://www.astro.cornell.edu/~haynes/rmspg/docs/es2rd041101.txt -- MH noted that AUI has agreed to limited logistical support such as arranging telecons such as this. A proposal from AUI for more substantial funding including travel will be submitted to NSF shortly. -- MH proposed that the committee should consider as its overall charge an updated review of the U.S. ground-based radio/submillimeter program as an integrated strategy and in the context of other developments in the field. It was agreed that the 2004 AASC panel report and the full AASC decadal survey would serve as the starting point and basis for this activity. 2. Two other national committees are also reviewing aspects of the AASC program currently. MH summarized their charge and activity. A. The CAA has charged a committee, chaired by M. Urry (Yale), to "... prepare a short report reviewing the scientific discoveries and technical advances in astronomy and astrophysics over the 5 years since the publication of the decadal survey 'Astronomy and Astrophysics in the New Millennium' (AANM). It will address the implications of scientific and technical developments as well as changes in the federal program. It will assess progress toward realizing the vision for the field articulated in AANM and supplemented by 'Connecting Quarks with the Cosmos'". This committee has a web site at: http://www7.nationalacademies.org/bpa/Mid_Course_Review_Home.html B. The (National) Astronomy and Astrophysics Advisory Committee (previously called the NAAAC, now called the AAAC) was established by act of Congress, see Sec. 23. at: http://frwebgate.access.gpo.gov/cgi-bin/getdoc.cgi?dbname=107_cong_public_laws&docid=f:publ368.107 and is charged to "assess and make recommendations regarding, the coordination of astronomy and astrophysics programs of the [NSF] and [NASA]". In the interim, DOE has been included. See the committee's website at: http://www.aas.org/naaac/ 3. It was agreed that the first set of activities will be conducted by electronic exchange, using both the web and email, and that regular telecons would be held by the committee on a bi-weekly basis in the near term. Telecons will be scheduled for 12n-1pm EST on Nov 15, 29 and Dec 13 immediately; future meetings will be planned as the time approaches. AUI staff M. Satin is making those arrangements. 4. It was agreed that committee activities should be conducted in an open a manner as feasible using the web as an open forum. To that aim, MH has agreed to manage a website at Cornell: http://www.astro.cornell.edu/~haynes/rmspg This website will be initiated as soon as possible. Others will be urged to provide documents to be posted on that website or URLs to other websites. 5. It was agreed to make up an initial set of bullets which outline what breakthrough science has occurred since the AASC report (a) in radio/submm astronomy and (b) in other areas of astronomy which bear on the US radio/submm astronomy program? JC, NE and SM agreed to spearhead the first draft of this list. 6. It was agreed to make up an initial set of bullets which outline what breakthrough technologies have been enabled since the AASC report (a) in radio/submm astronomy and (b) in other areas of astronomy which bear on the US radio/submm astronomy program. JC and JH agreed to spearhead the first draft of this list. 7. It was agreed that contact would be initiated by MH on behalf of the committee with the PIs of programs and facilities currently supported or included in the AASC panel report or otherwise critical to the US radio/submm astronomy program. Although not of direct relevance to the NSF AST senior review, space missions would also be discussed in the interest of scientific completeness. DC and MH agreed to draft a list of questions to be asked of the PI's of these programs. The following individuals were identified as initial contacts (order/spacing for convenience only): Program Contact ____________________________________ VLA Lo VLBA Lo GBT Lo Arecibo Brown ALMA Lo EVLA Lo SKA Cordes CARMA Sargent SP10m Carlstrom FASR Bastian ATA Welch SMA Moran ARO Ziurys CSO Phillips FCRAO Schloerb LMT Schloerb AT25 Giovanelli LWA Kassim MWA Lonsdale Other CMB Myers, Carlstrom ARISE Fomalont Herschel Evans Planck Carlstrom SIRA MacDowell