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As you are probably aware, at the November 2007 meeting of the Gemini Board, the UK announced its intention to withdraw from the Gemini Partnership prior to the end of the current Operating Agreement on 31 December 2012. This intent was reiterated in a 12 December 2007 letter from the UK’s Science and Technology Facilities Council (STFC).
The Gemini Board conducted a telecon on 24 January 2008 in which it was agreed that as of 12 December 2007 the UK was no longer a partner in the International Gemini Observatory. As part of the operating agreement, the UK is liable to continue to pay its share of Gemini operating expenses for two years after their early withdrawal, but will lose its access to Gemini immediately. The Board intends to act in a manner to maintain the continuity of operations and the scientific opportunities of the remaining partners.
NOAO and the NGSC are in close communication with Gemini and are discussing a number of ways to move forward into 2008-2009. Input from the US community will certainly be sought—we don’t yet know how, but we will be convening our community advisory committee, the US Gemini SAC, in the next few weeks to put together a plan. In our view, the unfortunate loss of the UK as a partner does open up significant opportunities for increased access to the Gemini telescopes for the US user community.
The STFC statement can be found at the following Web site: http://www.scitech.ac.uk/PMC/PRel/STFC/Gemini-Update.aspx
Feel free to contact either of us if you have comments or questions about this developing situation.
Todd Boroson (tyb@noao.edu), Interim Director, NOAO
Verne V. Smith (vsmith@noao.edu), Director, NOAO Gemini Science Center (NGSC)
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NOAO is operated by the Association of Universities for Research in Astronomy (AURA), Inc. under cooperative agreement with the National Science Foundation. Last updated 28 January, 2008. |
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NOAO > Director's Office |
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