--------------------NRAO/ALMA Recent News--------------------------------
An ALMA-related workshop on the new suite of ultrawide-bandwidth 
(sub)millimeter spectrometers now under development for several 
telescopes.  The main goals of such a workshop (tentatively titled:
"From Z to A: Z-Machines to ALMA") would be to familiarize the community 
with these instruments' capabilities, highlight the most important scientific 
questions about dusty high-redshift galaxies that they will be able to 
address in the near term, and discuss how observing programs can be 
designed to optimize synergy with ALMA and the EVLA on longer timescales.  
This would be a small workshop (~60 participants) held in Charlottesville 
following the Washington DC meeting of the AAS.  The ANASAC is spearheading
this effort; volunteers for the Scientific Organizing Committee are being
identified.

The ALMA Board met in Pasadena during a series of meetings which included
one with the ALMA Management Advisory Committee.  The Board met with the
AMAC to discuss the preliminary results of its review; they noted the
AMAC's observation of significant improvement in the project status owing to
the addition of a Project Manager and Project Engineer.

Changes to the management structure of the ALMA project have been effected. 
These changes have been jointly developed by the Executives and the JAO, and 
were discussed and adopted at the April 2005 ALMA Board meeting. 
* Site IPT: Effective immediately, all site activities are placed under JAO 
management control, with the Site IPT lead/deputy reporting directly to the 
ALMA Project Manager. All site-related purchases, contracting and hiring 
require the authorization of the ALMA Project Manager (with specific areas 
and activities directly delegated to the Site IPT lead and deputy by the ALMAPM)
* System Engineering & Integration IPT: The transfer of SE&I to JAO management 
control (begun in 2004) will be completed immediately; all SE&I purchases, 
contracts and hiring require the authorization of the ALMA Project Engineer 
(with specific areas and activities directly delegated to the SE&I IPT lead 
and deputy by the ALMA PE). 

Contingent upon its being updated to conform to the current approved version of
the Project Plan, the Board approved draft version J1 of the Operations Plan to
become Version A of the ALMA Operations Plan.

In Feb. 2005, the EU informed ESO that a contract for the proposal 
'ALMA Enhancement’, submitted in March 2004, could be negotiated.  The
ALMA Board is considering this proposition for an ALMA enhancement.
The EU funding will provide funds for the receivers and necessary software. 
This proposal involves building a prototype and 8 production receivers for ALMA 
Band 5 (163-211 GHz) on ALMA antennas and providing software needed to make 
use of the Band 5 receivers to map the extended 183 GHz water vapor emission
for comparison to lower spatial resolution data in other water emission lines
expected from Herschel. 

At its Pasadena meeting, the ALMA Board encouraged 'the continued negotiations 
between ESO and the EU to obtain support for the implementation of 8 Band 5 
cartridges on ALMA, the development and implementation of advanced radiometric 
phase calibration techniques, and of software for on-the-fly mosaicing.
The Board notes that the process of integration and commissioning of the 
receivers into ALMA will be scheduled and managed solely by the JAO with 
no extra costs or delay to the Project.'

The Report of the ALMA Science Advisory Committee to the Board is available:
http://www.cv.nrao.edu/~awootten/mmaimcal/asac/ASACReport-February2005.pdf
The Board approved the ASAC recommendation that L. Testi succeed J. Turner
as its Chairperson.  C. Wilson will become Vice Chair.

Following the Pasadena Board meeting, the AUI/NRAO Contract Selection 
Committee evaluated the information contained in the ALMA production
bid bid confirmations and the Joint Antenna Technical Group (JATG) report.  
After making it selection recommendation to the NRAO Director and AUI 
President, AUI submitted an approval request to NSF on April 15.  R. Dickman 
reported that as part of the NSF review process, he would be briefing the 
ALMA Project Advisory Team on April 27.  A decision is expected by May 13.
The Director General of ESO submitted an approval request for antenna
selection to ESO Council Finance Committee.  The Finance Committee will 
consider the request at its May 10-11 meeting.

Antony Davies has been selected as NRAO ALMA Controller has taken up his
office in Charlottesville.

The WVR Review went well in Onsala. 

A JAO phone directory has been issued and is available at 
http://www.cv.nrao.edu/~awootten/mmaimcal/JAOphone.pdf

The next JAO/IPT meeting will be held in Chile at the OSF, San Pedro de 
Atacama, Sep 26-30.

An unusual eruption registered before dawn 5 May at Láscar volcano,
located about 430 kilometers to the west of Antofagasta and a little
further than the town of San Pedro de Atacama from the ALMA site, to its
south.  Lascar expelled ashes and columns of smoke by a period of 30
minutes between the localities of Camar and Talabre. The eruption was
detected at 03,03 hours.  No effect was reported at the ALMA site.
Massimo was reportedly many miles away.