WORKSHOP GOALS:
The goal of the Proposal Process Workshop is to develop a shared understanding among the National Gemini Offices and the Gemini Project of the requirements and procedures for Gemini telescope proposals, and to encourage cooperation among the national observatories of the partner countries, STScI, and other institutions faced with similar issues and concerns related to the telescope proposal process.
AGENDA:
The following agenda for the Proposal Process Workshop is considered final, but we solicit your comments and suggestions so that the Workshop will be as useful to all participants as possible. Generally, we will explore the goals and broad issues on Monday morning, and investigate the content of proposals on Monday afternoon to identify the complete set of information necessary to include in a telescope proposal.
On Tuesday morning we will discuss the proposal process to identify in some detail the scientific and procedural requirements for the different phases of the proposal process, from preparation through submission, merit review, technical review, and scheduling.
On Tuesday afternoon we will look more deeply into specific implementation issues, with the goal of identifying a clear path to providing a set of tools for investigators and observatory staff to manage the proposal process.
Monday, August 10:
8:30 - 9:00 Informal Breakfast
9:00 - 9:15 Welcome and Overview of Meeting (Pilachowski)
9:15 - 10:00 The SCOPE vision of the NOAO process (Boroson)
10:00 - 10:45 Overview of the Gemini Proposal Submission and Time
Allocation Process and Timeline (Puxley)
10:45 - 11:00 Break
11:00 - 11:45 The HST Experience - the evolution of the HST proposal
process (Miller, Blacker) (added additional speaker)
11:45 - 12:30 Discussion - The Role of Phase I/II (Jannuzi) (new discussion leader)
12:30 - 1:45 Lunch, Informal Demonstrations (lunch time change)
1:45 - 3:30 The Content of Telescope Proposals (Barnes)
Text and Figures
Investigator Information
Observing Run Information and Schedule Constraints
(including Queue and Classical)
Instrument Specifications
3:30 - 3:45 Break
3:45 - 4:45 The Content of Telescope Proposals (continued) (Cornell)
Target/Guidestar Information
Environmental Requirements (lunar phase, seeing, water
vapor, transparency, etc.)
Exposure Calculations, Time Estimates
4:45 - 5:00 Final Review of Content - What have we missed? (Pilachowski)
6:30 Hosted Dinner at Ovens restaurant
Tuesday, August 11
8:30 - 9:00 Informal Breakfast
9:00 - 10:45 The Proposal Process - Implementation Issues and Requirements
(Crabtree)
Proposal Preparation - Tools (Exp. Calc; Target Lists)
Proposal Submission - Mechanisms
10:45 - 11:00 Break
11:00 - 12:30 The Proposal Process (continued) (Glazebrook)
Proposal Import and Processing - Tools
Support of the TAC - Grades; Evaluating schedulability
Technical Evaluation of Proposals - Incorporation of
technical information
Scheduling/Forwarding
12:30 - 1:30 Lunch, Informal Demonstrations
1:30 - 1:45 Strawman Proposal (Puxley)
1:45 - 2:30 Getting There (Puxley)
Investigator Tools
Proposal preparation/submission
Exposure Calculators
Target Preparation
2:30 - 2:45 Break
2:45 - 4:00 Getting There (continued) (Davidge)
Database
Proposal handling
Evaluating Schedulability
Information Transfer - standards
4:00 - 5:00 Wrap-Up (Pilachowski)
REVIEWING CURRENT TELESCOPE PROPOSAL PRACTICES:
A Website (www.noao.edu/scope/tpp_workshop/background.html) is available to all meeting participants to review links to proposal information, proposal tools, observing tools, etc., as well as documentation about proposal processing. We encourage all workshop participants to review materials, demonstrations, and documentation about the proposal process at our several institutions prior to the workshop.
Please email Jeannette Barnes (jbarnes@noao.edu) with links to proposal-related sites at your own institution that you would like included on the workshop page. We would also appreciate receiving postscript or PDF files (or links) of any recent published papers related to proposals or proposal processing at your institution. All information will be posted promptly.
The workshop Web site also includes the agenda for the workshop and Tucson hotel information.
Updated: 06Aug1998