noao gemini science center (ngsc)

NOAO Gemini ScienceCenter (NGSC)

Taft Armandroff

for NOAO Users’ Committee

October 2004

Outline of Presentation

• U.S. Community Demand for Gemini• U.S. Instrumentation Status• Future Instrument Availability to Community• GNIRS Key Science Campaign• NGSC Retreat Issues & Outcomes

– NGSC Staffing

– Visits for Training & Assisting with Queue Observing

– Greater Integration of NGSC Scientists on Gemini Instrument Teams

– NGSC Meetings to Inform and Involve Community

– U.S. Gemini Science Advisory Committee

– Gemini Publications

US community responding strongly to Gemini opportunities

• Semester 2004B: 161 US proposals• Gemini North: 149.4 nights in 84 proposals

– GMOS-N (optical MOS): 45 proposals– NIRI (IR imager): 23 proposals– Michelle (mid-IR): 17 proposals

• Gemini South: 221.7 nights in 93 proposals– GNIRS (IR spectrograph): 29 proposals– T-ReCS (mid-IR): 28 proposals– GMOS-S (optical MOS): 28 proposals– Phoenix (hi-res IR spectrograph): 9 proposals– AcqCam (hi-speed imager): 2 proposals

• Oversubscription: 3.1 at Gemini North, 4.8 at Gemini South

2005A U.S. Gemini Requests• 219 proposals for 489 nights total• Gemini North: 121 proposals

– GMOS-N (optical MOS): 60 proposals– Michelle (mid-IR): 23 proposals– NIRI (IR imager): 47 proposals– 12 of NIRI proposals included ALTAIR (AO)

• Gemini South: 115 proposals– GNIRS (IR spectrograph): 38 proposals– GMOS-S (optical MOS): 36 proposals– Phoenix (hi-res IR spectr): 24 proposals– T-ReCS (mid-IR): 23 proposals– AcqCam (hi-speed imager): 1 proposal

• Oversubscription: 5.2 at Gemini North, 4.4 at Gemini South

Gemini Near-IR Spectrograph• long slit, cross-dispersed,

integral field unit (IFU)

• 1-5 μm; R = 1,000 to 18,000

• ALADDIN InSb array

• selectable gratings & cameras

• fabricated at NOAO

• delivered: October 2003

• almost completely commissioned & SV’d

• available to community starting in 2004B

• observing underway

Near-Infrared Coronagraphic Imager (NICI)

• 1-5 μm coronagraphic imager for Gemini South

• dual science channels

• dedicated adaptive optics system

• NASA funded in response to an NOAO proposal

• MKIR was successful bidder for NICI concept design & only respondent to RFP for building

• undergoing 2nd cold test in October

Flamingos II• near-infrared imager &

multi-slit spectrograph• provided by University of

Florida• P.I.s: R. Elston, S.

Eikenberry• heritage of Flamingos (2K

x 2k HAWAII-2)• 6' diameter field, multislits• 1-2.5 μm, R = 1000 – 4000• integration of instrument

beginning• December 2005 delivery

planned

Instrument Availability to Community

GNIRS Key Science Campaign• Announced in December 2003, March 2004, &

September 2004 NOAO Newsletters• Webcast to community 16 March 2004; & Website• Selection criteria:

– 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 & archiving, &

deliver data products

• first program: “A Near-Infrared Kinematic Survey of Nearby Galaxies: Black Holes, Bulges, and the Fundamental Plane” by Karl Gebhardt et al.

NOAO Gemini ScienceCenter (NGSC) Staffing

NGSC Retreat Issue

NGSC Staffing• NGSC Staff is crucial to NGSC’s efforts in:

– Education and leadership of U.S. community of Gemini users and potential users

– Gemini user support in U.S. (technical reviews of proposals, Phase-II support, Help Desk)

• Number of U.S. Gemini proposals, users and instruments has increased strongly

– Presence at Gemini telescopes for training, queue observing, & instrument/user support

• Evolve staffing model to Staff that spends most of its service effort supporting Gemini– To facilitate deep commitment & knowledge

NGSC Staff Development 2003/4• Recruitment for Deputy to NGSC Director,

to be located permanently in La Serena– Verne Smith hired– Experienced scientist– Gemini + Phoenix user, multiple Gemini papers– Started 1 August 2004

• Recruitment for NGSC Assistant astronomer– Tom Matheson hired– Ph.D. Berkeley, postdoc CfA (supernova

cosmology, SN ↔ GRB connection)– Experienced GMOS user– Started 1 September 2004

Taft Armandroff NGSC Director 0.9

Ken Hinkle Phoenix, Michelle 0.8

Jay Elias GNIRS 0.25

Mike Merrill NIRI 0.2

Bob Blum NIRI, Hokupaa-85 0.18

Dick Joyce GNIRS 0.2

Marcel Bergmann GMOS 0.4

Rachel Mason T-ReCS, Michelle 0.4

Chris Smith GMOS 0.1

Tod Lauer GMOS 0.18

Patrice Bouchet T-ReCS 0.4

Lucas Macri NIRI 0.1

Dave Bell proposal process 0.15

Sally Adams Metrics, staff support 1.0

Verne Smith Deputy Director,Phoenix 0.8

Tom Matheson GMOS 0.5

Details• Table designed to be consistent with other

NGO staff assessments

• Does not include– 2 FTE of Gemini IRAF support– Instrumentation development support– General TAC process

• Does not include science time of staff– 50% for astronomer track– 20% for scientist track– 60% for postdocs– Administrators…

2004/5 Staff Search• NGSC Staff Search in 2004/5• 2 positions: Assistant Astronomer and/or Assistant

Scientist• 100% NGSC for functional responsibilities• What areas do we most need help in? Possibly:

– mid-IR– adaptive optics + associated instruments

• Tentative basing– Goal: keep 2 sites from being sub-critical in NGSC

support effort– 1 position in La Serena– 1 position in Tucson– Address Hilo needs by visits to Hilo from both Tucson

& La Serena NGSC Staff

Staffing vs. TimeDate Total

Service FTE

Mean Contribution

Action

July 2004 5.26 0.38 Baseline

September 2004

6.56 0.41 Add Verne Smith & Tom Matheson

September 2005

7.68 0.45 Add 2 new positions; subtract 0.18 NGSC staffer who will DPP

Visits for Training & Assisting with Queue Observing

NGSC Retreat Issue

Importance of NGSC Visits to Gemini• Training Visits

– NGSC Staff need expert training to master a Gemini instrument.

– Instrument mastery yields proper support to U.S. community.

– Connection with Gemini Staff

• Queue Observing Visits– Gemini staffed for 50%:50% queue: classical

– Reality is closer to 85% queue.

– NGO Staff help staffing shortfall in supporting queues.

– Keeps NGSC Staff current on observing procedures.

– Connection with Gemini Staff

– Hopefully, helps NGSC Staff carry out cutting-edge science projects with Gemini.

Gemini Requested Visits• Gemini Requests 6 Queue Observing

Support Visits per semester from U.S.– 4-5 nights long– 6 = sum of U.S. visits at both telescopes– 3 from U.K.– 2 from Canada– 1 from sum of remaining partners

O/I Support—2003Name Tele Instr What Nights Dates

Bob Blum G-S Phoenix classical observing 1 1/1

Knut Olsen G-S Phoenix classical observing 1 1/1

Bob Blum G-S Phoenix queue + payback 6 1/6 - 1/11

Steve Ridgway G-S Phoenix queue + payback 6 1/12 - 1/17

Marcel Bergman G-S GMOS-S commissioning 5 1/23-1/27

Ken Hinkle G-S Phoenix queue + payback 10 2/7 - 2/16

Chris Smith G-S GMOS-S commissioning obs 2 2/21 – 2/22

Marcel Bergmann G-S GMOS-S commissioning obs 4 2/22 – 2/25

Chris Smith G-S GMOS-S daytime data redux 1 2/28

Marcel Bergmann G-S GMOS-S dataproc in La Ser 4 2/28 – 3/3

Chris Smith G-S GMOS-S commissioning obs 3 3/2 – 3/4



Marcel Bergmann G-S GMOS-S commissioning 4 4/25-4/28


Marcel Bergmann G-S GMOS-S commissioning 4 5/26-5/29


Steve Ridgway G-S Phoenix queue + payback 5 7/27 - 7/31

O/I Support—2003 continuedName Tele Instr What Nights Dates

Ken Hinkle G-S Phoenix queue – payback 6 8/11 - 8/16

Bob Blum G-S Phoenix queue observing 6 8/17 - 8/22

Marcel Bergmann G-N GMOS-N queue observing 4 8/29 - 9/1

Lucas Macri G-N NIRI queue observing 4 8/11-8/14

Nicole v.d. Bliek G-S Phoenix queue observing 1 9/5

Knut Olsen G-S Phoenix queue observing 3 9/5 - 9/7

Marcel Bergmann G-S GMOS-S queue observing 4 9/21 - 9/24

Bob Blum G-N Altair+NIRI commissioning 6 11/12 - 11/17

Marcel Bergmann G-S GMOS-S IFU commissioning 1 11/16


Lucas Macri G-N NIRI queue observing 4 11/02-11/05


Rachel Mason G-S Phoenix queue + payback 5 12/8 - 12/12

Jay Elias G-S GNIRS instrument testing daytime/twilight 2 12/10 - 12/11


Ken Hinkle G-N Michelle queue observing 2 12/16 - 12/17

Rachel Mason G-N Michelle queue observing 2 12/16 - 12/17

O/I Support—2004Name Tele Instr What Nights Dates

Jay Elias G-S GNIRS commissioning 10 1/7-1/16

Rachel Mason G-S GNIRS commissioning 3 2/1 - 2/3

Jay Elias G-S GNIRS commissioning support from Tucson 14 2/1 - 2/14


Patrice Bouchet G-S T-ReCS engineering 5 3/1 - 3/5

Jay Elias G-S GNIRS SV support from TUS 4 3/6 – 3/9

Patrice Bouchet G-S T-ReCS queue observing 5 3/10 - 3/14

Jay Elias G-S GNIRS IFU installation + commissioning (lab) 21 3/15 - 4/4

Bob Blum G-S Phoenix queue observing 3 3/29 - 3/31


Ken Hinkle G-S Phoenix instrument work 4 4/6 - 4/9

Jay Elias G-S GNIRS IFU (on telescope) 4 4/5 – 4/8

Marcel Bergmann G-N GMOS-N acclimatization/helping 1 4/23

Marcel Bergmann G-N GMOS-N queue observing 4 4/24 - 4/27

Patrice Bouchet G-S T-ReCS engineering 1 4/27

Patrice Bouchet G-S T-ReCS queue observing 5 4/28 - 5/2




Lucas Macri G-N GMOS queue observing 6 5/16 - 5/21

Bob Blum G-S Phoenix queue + payback 3 6/7 – 6/9

Patrice Bouchet G-S T-ReCS queue obs? 5-7 ?

Knut Olsen G-S Phoenix queue 2 6/9 – 6/10

Jay Elias G-S GNIRS SV support from TUS 1 6/14

Marcel Bergmann G-S GNIRS SV/commissioning 1 6/14

Marcel Bergmann G-S GMOS-S queue observing 4 6/15 – 6/18

Rachel Mason G-S T-ReCS queue 2 6/24 – 6/25

Bob Blum G-S Phoenix queue observing 1 6/26

Rachel Mason G-S Phoenix queue + payback 5 6/26 - 6/30

Bob Blum G-S Phoenix queue observing 5 7/1 – 7/5

Marcel Bergmann G-S GMOS-S queue 3 7/12-7/14

Ken Hinkle G-S Phoenix classical support from GROC (Geballe Q36) 0 7/22

Bob Blum G-S Phoenix start-up and “on call” for classical 1 7/24


Bob Blum G-S Phoenix payback 1 7/27-7/28

Rachel Mason G-S T-ReCS training 1 8/1-8/2

Rachel Mason G-S Phoenix queue 0 8/3-8/5

Bob Blum G-S Phoenix queue + payback 5 8/6-8/10

Lucas Macri G-N GMOS-N queue 5 8/14-8/18

Bob Blum G-S Hoku-85 commissioning 4 8/22-8/25

Andrei Tokovinin G-S Hoku-85 commissioning 3 8/29-8/31

Jay Elias G-S GNIRS


Rachel Mason G-N Michelle queue observing 4 9/23-9/26

Bob Blum G-N NIRI+Altair

Tom Matheson G-N GMOS-N training + queue obs 13 10/8-10/20

Marcel Bergmann G-N GMOS-N acclimatization 1 11/7

Marcel Bergmann G-N GMOS-N queue 4 11/8-11/11

Verne Smith G-S GMOS-S training TBD TBD


NGSC Support Totals

2003 2004 (partial)

# Phoenix nights @ Gemini 89 46

# Other nights @ Gemini 60 150

Total # nights @ Gemini 149 196

# Individuals to Gemini 10 11

Conclusions• NGSC Staff is achieving significant

presence at the Gemini telescopes.• Particularly strong at Gemini South• The NGSC presence increased from 2003 to

2004.• Queue support target should not be a

problem.• NGSC’s strong & increased presence

results in a greater knowledge base within NGSC to support the U.S. community.

• Explore greater presence in Hilo via rotating staff through for 1-month visits

Greater Integration of NGSC Scientists into Gemini Instrument

Teams

NGSC Retreat Issue

NGSC Staff on Gemini Teams• Formal commitment of NGSC support staff =

technical reviews of proposals, Phase-II support & checking , Help Desk, data reduction support for U.S. users

• Gemini responsibilities include instrument commissioning, operations, data quality assessment & archiving, documentation

• Split responsibilities limit knowledge of staff at NGOs

• Explore making NGSC Staff part of Gemini instrument Teams, “Extended Staff”– More involvement in commissioning, documentation

• Perform pilot with one instrument

NGSC Meetings to Inform and Involve Community

NGSC Retreat Issue

NGSC Meetings / Workshops• Seek Gemini workshops for U.S. community

– Gemini science workshop in Vancouver in May 2004 was co-sponsored by NGSC

– Potential areas for learning:• mid-IR observing opportunities at Gemini• IFU instrumentation & science at Gemini• GNIRS observing & calibration• adaptive optics opportunities at Gemini

– What is best time / venue to hold these?• Before/after a AAS meeting in same city (hotel)?

• NGSC Retreat input:– Formula: 50% science, 50% education– Not necessarily Gemini specific, e.g. IFUs– Co-organize with Canada (if possible)– Graduate student summer schools in Hilo & La Serena

U.S. Gemini Science Advisory Committee

NGSC Retreat Issue

U.S. Gemini Science Advisory• U.S. Gemini Science Advisory Committee (SAC)

is a proxy for U.S. Community, assisting NGSC• Annual in-person meeting; more frequent email

interchanges or telecons• Survey on important questions

– instrument commissioning scientific priority– representatives of U.S. on Gemini committees– Science direction for Gemini– NGSC initiatives

• Membership– Taft Armandroff (Chair), NGSC; Lori Allen, CfA; Laird

Close, Steward; Robert Joseph, U. Hawaii; Andrew McWilliam, Carnegie; Catherine Pilachowski, Indiana U.; Larry Ramsey, Penn State; Christopher Stubbs, Harvard; Bob Williams, STScI

– Also include U.S. Board members in all SAC events

U.S. Gemini Science Advisory• Planned enhancements in 2004/2005

• Many members have served long terms.

• Add new members from current U.S. user base of Gemini:

• Nominations of helpful Gemini users by the Users’ Committee?

• Appoint Chairperson who is independent of NGSC and Gemini

Gemini Publications

NGSC Retreat Issue

U.S. Gemini Publications• Goals

– Strong stream of Gemini publications (especially U.S.)• Comparable to VLT, Keck, Subaru

– Timely publications– Raise Gemini’s share of most cited papers

• Factors that NGSC & Gemini are pursuing– Gemini/IRAF Project to make data reduction more

straightforward– Completing queue programs– Timely data distribution

• Gemini Science Archive

• What else?– Page charges for publishing within 12 months?– Data reduction cookbooks?– Users’ Committee ideas most welcome

noao gemini science center (ngsc)

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