ALMA Science Advisory Committee
Teleconference, 7 November 2001
Draft Minutes
Participants: R. Bachiller, G. Blake, R. Brown, P. Cox, R. Crutcher, N. Evans, Y. Fukui, S. Guilloteau, M. Gurwell, T. Hasegawa, M. Ishiguro, R. Kurz, J. Mangum, H. Matsuo, N. Nakai, J. Richer, S. Sakamoto, P. Shaver, K. Tatematsu, E. van Dishoeck, S. Yamamoto
The proposed agenda was adopted, and the minutes of the previous meeting were accepted.
R. Brown announced that the construction of ALMA has been effectively approved: $12.5 million has been allocated in FY 2002 "for construction". The overall budget package still has to be passed by the House and Senate and signed by the President; these steps should take place imminently, and appear virtually certain. The ASAC congratulated the Project on this crucial milestone for ALMA.
M. Ishiguro summarized the recent developments in Japan. The R & D budget proposal had been submitted to the Ministry of Finance over the summer. The Ministry of Finance has since said that it would be difficult to secure the full budget, and asked NAOJ to consider participating at a lower level. M. Ishiguro said that even then Japan would be able to do a considerable part of the project. Japan wants to make its best efforts to participate, and there are continuing discussions with the Ministry of Finance. The years 2002/2003 are currently categorized as R & D for ALMA in Japan; an amount of about $13-15 million should be available, and there are good prospects for the 12-meter prototype. The main construction budget will start in 2004, and for that plans will have to be made a year from now. The ACC strongly supports Japanese participation, even at a level less than one-third of the total.
R. Kurz started by saying that in Europe, the current plan is for final project approval in June 2002, although a decision as early as December is still possible.
He summarized the current status of the project, in the light of the above developments and the recent meetings in Washington. The focus will be on the baseline bilateral project, led by the original ACC and AEC, while maintaining close communication and coordination with Japan. In the latter context, the E-ACC will still exist and will meet about once per year, and the ALG will be resurrected to provide relevant input. The ASAC will continue with the same full composition it has currently, and the chair and vice-chair will rotate between the European and North American partners.
The AEC has been asked by the ACC to have an updated bilateral project plan ready by 1 February 2002 ($552 million total). It is essential to proceed with the International Project Office, and to implement the IPTs, as soon as possible.
At its meeting the ACC expressed its appreciation for the considerable work by the ASAC on the enhancements for the trilateral project, the operations plan, and other inputs. The ACC has not made decisions on the operations plan yet, and will need continuing ASAC input.
The antenna procurement issues were briefly discussed, and also the access to the land in Chile, for which legal opinion has recently been obtained.
G. Blake called for comments on the current ASAC Charter, as this is intended for review by the ACC in its December teleconference.
Y. Fukui proposed that the next ASAC face-to-face meeting take place in Tokyo or Nagoya on 19-20 March 2002, with an ALMA Science Day to follow on the 21st. Another possibility may be one week earlier (12-14 March). ASAC members were asked to e-mail their preferences to all three Chairs/Vice Chairs: G. Blake, P. Cox, and Y. Fukui.
S. Guilloteau said that the report on the ACA would be ready as an ALMA memo by the end of the week. The simulator will be made generally available. He also said that configuration studies were needed to make sure that the ACA could be accommodated. New studies have started on single dish observing techniques, and a report on these is expected by the end of the month.
On Operations, Neal Evans raised the question of how to move forward. Issues could include the RSCs, and the ALMA TAC. P. Cox mentioned that a meeting on the European RSC is scheduled to take place in Paris on 7 December, and G. Blake said that he would discuss steps for the North American RSC with C. Wilson. Concerning the TAC, it was proposed to collect information on TACs from other facilities, as a starting point for discussion. As mentioned above, the ACC just "took note" of the ASAC recommendations on operations, and would like continuing ASAC input.
P. Shaver conveyed the good news that Karl Menten has made significant progress in the last few weeks, and ASAC members are encouraged to send e-mail message to Karl via his secretary Edith Fingas (efingas@mpifr-bonn.mpg.de).
The next ASAC teleconference will take place on Wednesday 5 December at 14:30 UT.