Most of the activities in recent months have been focused on the successful launch of the SOLIS project. The implementation of SOLIS will include active participation by both NSO sites. The project absorbs much of the energy of the NSO scientific and technical staff, with details of the instrumentation design being developed and recruitment of essential personnel currently underway. A meeting of the SOLIS Science Advisory Group has been scheduled at the May SPD meeting. These are exciting times at the NSO!
The 1998 NSO Sac Peak workshop on "High Resolution Solar Physics: Theory, Observations, and Techniques" will be dedicated to Richard B. Dunn's lifelong contributions to solar astronomy. Dick has decided to retire, as of 31 August 1998, at which time he will become an NSO/NOAO Emeritus Astronomer. The topic of the workshop is especially appropriate for this occasion. We anticipate that the combination of an interesting workshop and the associated Dunn festivities will encourage many of you in the solar community to make the pilgrimmage to this Mecca of solar astronomy that Dick Dunn created.
The 26 February Caribbean solar eclipse was very successful. I personally enjoyed it in its full glory as a tourist, but two NSO scientists, Jeff Kuhn and Haosheng Lin, in a joint experiment with the High Altitude Observatory, obtained very interesting observations both from the air and from the ground. The implications for coronal magnetic field observations that are enabled by the discovery of the Si IX emission line at 3.9 µm are particularly intriguing.
Recent NSO personnel changes include the promotions of Mark Giampapa to Full Astronomer and K.S. (Bala) Balasubramaniam to Associate Scientist, and the appointment of George Simon as NSO/NOAO Astronomer Emeritus. George has been one of NSO's "partner" staff and a lifelong Air Force employee at Sac Peak. His appointment to NSO/NOAO emeritus status is a recognition by NOAO of his contributions to NSO as a whole. I expect that George's joining the elite club of NSO Emeriti will increase the already substantial contributions to NSO by that group, which includes Keith Pierce, John Jefferies, Bill Livingston, Jack Zirker, and now Dick Dunn.
The NSO Users' Committee met on 20 and 21 April. Its report is not yet available at this writing. You should look for it in the next NOAO Newsletter.
Stay tuned for more news on the outcome of the "Parker Committee" study, as well as the results of the NSO Director search!
Jacques Beckers