GNIRS Key Science Opportunity in Semester 2005A
Taft Armandroff, Jeremy Mould & Steve Strom
The Gemini Near-Infrared Spectrograph (GNIRS) has been commissioned in its primary modes and will be used for community science programs starting in semester 2004B. NOAO is eager to see the powerful capabilities of GNIRS exploited for major scientific initiatives.
As announced in the December 2003 and March 2004 issues of the NOAO/NSO Newsletter, NOAO is conducting a program to enable observations with high scientific potential that require significant blocks of time with GNIRS on Gemini South (15 to 20 nights over the next two to three years). Proposers must agree to make all Gemini data and ancillary information available publicly following a minimal proprietary period (less than six months). Please submit such proposals using the normal NOAO Time Allocation Committee (TAC) process, but indicate in the Abstract that your proposal is to be considered for the “GNIRS Key Science Opportunity.” The TAC will evaluate the scientific merit of these proposals. In addition, because discretionary time from the NOAO Director will be used for this program, the Director will employ the following criteria in evaluating proposals:
- Intrinsic scientific merit as evaluated by the TAC
- Breadth and quality of the scientific team and its demonstrated track record
- Enhancement of undergraduate education through involvement in research
- Potential value of the archival database to other users
- Plans to manage data reduction and archiving, and deliver data products, in a timely fashion.
We recommend that you address the last three bullets explicitly in your proposal.
During the proposal review process for semester 2004B, NOAO selected the first program for GNIRS Key Science: “A NearInfrared Kinematic Survey of Nearby Galaxies: Black Holes, Bulges, and the Fundamental Plane” by Karl Gebhardt (University of Texas) and colleagues. We wish this team every success in their pioneering work with GNIRS, and we look forward to other ambitious GNIRS Key Science submissions for semester 2005A.
