BIWEEKLY CALENDAR OF THE ALMA PROJECT at NRAO August 29, 2005 - Sept 12, 2005 ******************************** THIS FORTNIGHT***************************** On 2 August, the contracts for the foundation and shell packages for the ALMA Array Operations Site (AOS) technical building, an NRAO task, were signed at the NRAO/AUI offices in Santiago with Chilean company CON PAX. Mobilization is underway and construction is scheduled to start on 20 September 2005. The foundations are scheduled to be completed on 20 December 2005, and the shell structure is scheduled to be finished on 20 March 2006. This work will mark the beginning of construction for ALMA on the high-elevation site. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Mr. Joaquín Collao has accepted the position to become the ALMA Camp Manager (Administrador de Campamento ALMA. He will start his duty this Thursday, September 1st. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Claus Dierksmeier (ESO) has joined ALMA as Site IPT Lead Jorg Eschwey's deputy. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- The first mailing went out for the Zmachines/ALMA conference in January; pre-registrations already are nearing three dozen. See http://www.zmachines.net ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Several hundred astronomers attended IAU Symposium 231 on Astrochemistry at Asilomar, California. ALMA figured prominently in many talks given there; talks and posters will appear online at http://asilomar.caltech.edu ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Past issues of this Calendar may be viewed at http://www.cv.nrao.edu/~awootten/mmaimcal/ALMACalendars.html See also the JAO ALMA Calendar overview at: http://www.alma.cl/alma_project ******************************************************************************* General Happenings Santiago: Activity centers on planning, especially for Rebaselining documents and for the Cost Review. OSF: Rough Work for the establishment of the modified formation level of the permanent access road from km 28 to the AOS has started; now at km 34. Currently there are approximately 74 persons working at the site AOS: 15 August: Science team leaves, having staked new configuration locations. Tucson: System Requirements Review report was forwarded to the JAO. Requirements Working Group now being defined to follow up SRR. Holography planning continues with Emerson: tentative decision on location of holo tower made. ATF: Antenna IPT and contract representatives met at the ATF to examine prototype antenna for changes required on production version. Restarted tests of real-time Linux based optical pointing software at the ATF. AOC: Prototype-SystemIntegration (PSI) phase noise and drift tests were done by inserting Gunn oscillator signal into RF simulator; these tests of LO modules for LO reference and timing were satisfactory. IF Testing continued; broadband noise, 4-12 GHz, generated in the pseudo-FE was used to derive digitizer statistics in the correlator. Socorro data flow meeting was quite successful. NTC: Cartridge builders were asked to measure dependence of SIS mixer gain on LO power so that the spec on LO amplitude stability can be refined. Beam pattern measurements of cartridge #2 in cryostat #1 are nearly done; the results are the same as for cartridge #1. Testing of the comprehensive test software for the Tunable Filter Bank (TFB) card installed in the correlator continued. NAASC: First announcement issued for Z-machine workshop. Science requirements for subarrays including ACA and main ALMA Array antennas drafted. Science requirements for ALMA nutators drafted. Final inner 151-pad inner (r<4km) configuration document was submitted after ground truthing by on-site team led by Otarola. ******************************************************************************* DAILY CALENDAR (Times EDT ) see https://wikio.nrao.edu/bin/view/ALMA/AlmaCalendar Mon 29 August Closing date of the tender for the construction of the Technical Facilities at the OSF. IAU Symposium 231,'Astrochemistry throughout the Universe: Recent Successes and Current Challenges' thru September 2; Asilomar, California Tue 30 10:30 AM-11:30 AM: JAO IPT Telecon Wed 31 Thu Sep 1 9:30 AM-11:00 AM: Management IPT Teleconference Fri Sep 2 Sat Sep 3 Sun Sep 4 Mon Sep 5 Labor Day Holiday, United States Tue Sep 6 Wed Sep 7 11:00 AM-12:00 PM: Change Control Board Thu Sep 8 JAO delivers ALMA budget to ALMA Board Fri Sep 9 'REVEALING THE MOLECULAR UNIVERSE -- ONE TELESCOPE IS NEVER ENOUGH' Conference to Celebrate Jack Welch's Career, U.C.Berkeley Sat Sep 10 Sun Sep 11 ****************************** UPCOMING EVENTS **************************** ALMA Calendar--https://wikio.nrao.edu/bin/view/ALMA/AlmaCalendar * Aug 29 -- Antenna meeting, Kilgore, Tx * Aug 29-Sept 2 -- IAU231, 'Astrochemistry throughout the Universe' Asilomar, Ca * Sep 9-10 -- "Revealing the Molecular Universe", Berkeley, Ca * Sep 14 -- ESAC Meeting, Garching * Sep 15 -- European ALMA Board, Garching * Sep 16 -- ESO Committee of Council, Brussels * Sep 22-23 -- ACA System Review, Santiago Postponed, probably to Early Nov, Tokyo * Sep 24-30 -- JAO/IPT Meeting, OSF Postponed, probably to early Dec. * Sep 29-30 -- ESO Council (if needed) * Oct 1-2 -- ASAC Meeting, Santiago * Oct 5 -- ESO Finance Committee * Oct 6 -- Rolling Stones come to Scott Stadium, Charlottesville * Oct 13-16 -- ALMA Cost Review proposed, Munich * Nov 1-2 -- ALMA Board, Santiago * Nov 8-9 -- ESO Finance Committee * Nov 8-9 -- ALMA-J Antenna SRR, Osaka * Nov 10-11 -- ACA System Review, Tokyo * Dec 7-8 -- ESO Council Regular Meeting * Jan 4-7 -- URSI/NA, Boulder * Jan 12-14 -- ALMA Zmachines workshop ******************************* TECHNICAL NEWS ***************************** ******************************ALSO OF INTEREST****************************** On 10 August, all elements of CARMA had been reassembled on the Cedar Flats site. Fringes were then obtained between the 10m and 6m elements of CARMA on schedule. --------------------------------------------------------------------------- This is the announcement of deadlines for observing proposals of the 45-m radio telescope of Nobeyama Radio Observatory (NRO). The 45-m telescope is the largest millimeter - wave telescope, mainly operating at frequency range from 20 GHz to 116 GHz. The telescope is available for open use on a peer-review basis, with observing proposals dealt with by the Programme Committee of Radio Astronomy, NAOJ. Foreign and Japanese applications are equally treated, and are judged only on scientific merit. Deadlines for Observing Proposals http://www.nro.nao.ac.jp/openuse/index-e.html Open Use for The XXIV-nd Period (December 2005 to May 2006) * First Period (mainly scheduled during Dec. 2005 to Mar. 2006) Deadline: Thu, September 1, 2005 15:00 JST (06:00 UT) * Second Period (mainly scheduled during Apr. 2006 to May 2006) Deadline: Tue, January 10, 2006 15:00 JST (06:00 UT) * Short Program (scheduled during Mar. 2006 to Apr. 2006) Deadline: Tue, January 31, 2006 15:00 JST (06:00 UT) --------------------------------------------- The call for new proposals for the observing period NOV 1, 2005 thru APR 30, 2006 is posted on the SMA Observer Central website. The proposal deadline is SEP 13, 2005. Proposers of Legacy Programs are expected to give notice of intent to propose by AUG 25 (to help deal with potential conflicts). ****************************************************************************** Please send information for upcoming calendars by Friday evening of the preceding biweekly period to Jennifer Neighbours or Al Wootten via e-mail (jneighbo@nrao.edu or awootten@nrao.edu). The calendar will be issued between late Friday and sometime on Monday by e-mail to all NRAO scientific staff members and anyone else interested. A specific mailing list, alma-info, has been created for anyone wishing to receive it. Past issues are available at http://www.cv.nrao.edu/~awootten/mmaimcal/ALMACalendars.html