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Electronic Proposal Submission--The Latest Scoop (1Mar96)
(from KPNO, NOAO Newsletter No. 45, March 1996)

As usual, we are encouraging all proposals for the upcoming semester to
be submitted electronically, although (unlike HST) we are not actually
requiring this. Last semester 90% of the proposals we received were
sent via e-mail, and most users seemed to find this fun and convenient.
On this end, we've encountered few problems, with the largest time
waster being fixing the handful of proposals which were apparently
never run through LaTeX and printed at the user's end. We do not
guarantee to do this in the future, so make sure the proposal looks the
way you want the TAC to see it before submitting it!

To submit an observing proposal here's all you have to do:

(1)  Obtain the observing proposal package by e-mailing
kpnoprop-request@noao.edu. You will have to fill out the LaTeX
observing proposal template. Alternatively, these forms are available
via anonymous ftp to ftp.noao.edu in the subdirectory kpno/kpnoforms/.
You can similarly obtain the files via the World Wide Web. (The NOAO
home page is: http://www.noao.edu). Examples of completed observing
proposals and sample figures are also available at the WWW site as a
guide.

(2)  Fill out the LaTeX observing proposal template with a
scientifically exciting, well-reasoned, and clear program. Include
whatever figures are needed to make your case in the form of
Encapsulated PostScript files. (See the example provided as part of the
package.)

(3)  If you are applying for WIYN time you will also need to fill
out the queue-observing form, which specifies all the parameters
necessary to carry out the observations (analogous to HST's Phase II
proposal).

(4)  Submit the observing form to kpnoprop-submit@noao.edu. You
should immediately receive an acknowledgment message telling you what
your proposal ID is. (If you don't, send e-mail to
kpnoprop-help@noao.edu or give Judy Prosser a call at (520) 318-8279.)
Included will be instructions for submitting the figures and/or queue
observing form.

(5)  Submit the figures and/or WIYN queue form following the
instructions received in the acknowledgment. You should also receive
acknowledgments for each of these.

(6)  In the case of thesis students, the advisor should send the
"thesis letter" via e-mail (also to kpnoprop-submit@noao.edu)
explaining how the present proposal fits into the overall scheme of the
thesis, what other observing time might be required, and so on. It
would help if the proposal number given in the acknowledgment message
above were mentioned.

Electronic submission of observing proposals has made our lives easier
as well as making it easier for observers to submit their requests. We
encourage everyone to submit their proposals in this way. Questions or
suggestions for improving the process can be directed to:
kpnoprop-help@noao.edu, or pmassey@noao.edu.

Phil Massey, Jeannette Barnes, David Bell,
Pat Patterson, Judy Prosser, Judy Roberts

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