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Data Reduction Support Changes (1Sep92) (from CTIO, NOAO Newsletter No. 31, 1 September 1992) With Lisa Wells's departure (see story above), we are re-examining the way in which we provide support for astronomers' data reduction needs. Over the last several years, the computing facilities available on the mountain for data reduction have increased, and visiting astronomers are also, on average, more familiar with IRAF, and more interested in trying to get initial stages of their data reduction done while on the mountain. At the present time, we have only one data reduction specialist on the mountain, Mauricio Navarrete. Observers who have been fortunate enough to observe during his shifts are undoubtedly familiar with the assistance he provides. We have decided to convert one of the regular night assistant positions into a second data reduction specialist position in order to provide this service for both weekly shifts. This ensures that a knowledgeable person will be available at all times on the mountain to help with questions relating to both data reduction and the Sun computers, particularly in the evenings and on weekends, when people in La Serena can be hard to find. After a search for qualified candidates and a competition among the local staff, one of the current night assistants, Nelson Saavedra, has been provisionally selected to fill this position. Visitors needing help with any aspect of the Sun computers or the data reduction software while working on Cerro Tololo should consult Saavedra or Navarrete. Like all the other specialists in the Observer Support section, they are based in the Observer Support office located in the 4-m building. Electronic mail addressed to IRAFHELP will also reach them. It may be worth adding what many Tololo visitors have already discovered, namely that several of the other night assistants are also quite knowledgeable about IRAF, CTIO data reductions, and other computer-related matters. Help with data reduction in La Serena will continue to be provided by Mario Hamuy. As a result of the above changes, for the near future one of the two weekly mountain shifts will not have a full-time night assistant assigned to the 0.9-m telescope. However, for that shift the data reduction specialist and other Observer Support people will be available to help astronomers start observing at the beginning of each night, and whenever problems occur. In particular, they will be prepared to devote special attention to each visiting observer at the start of every run, to ensure that the observer is comfortable with the telescope control program and all observing procedures. Steve Heathcote, Jay Elias, Bob Williams, Oscar Saa
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