In 2016 we saw a surge of contacts from Principal Investigators offering potential visitor instruments . Consequently , we now have over 10 instruments in the queue to exploit Gemini ’ s state-of-the-art telescope facilities . The Observatory continues to invite inquiries from all instrument teams that would like to bring their instruments to our telescopes . Over the past 12 months we have welcomed back some old friends — including DSSI , Texas Echelon Cross Echelle Spectrograph ( TEXES ), Phoenix , and Gemini Remote Access to CFHT ESPaDOnS Spectrograph ( GRACES ) — all offered in the regular Call for Proposals , as well as some newcomers ( e . g ., the hyper-precision polarimeter POLISH 2 , which visited in November ). We also had groups projecting into the future , such as the Immersion GRating INfrared Spectrograph ( IGRINS ) team , from the University of Texas Austin , that obtained ~ 130 hours of observations for 2018A through the latest round of Large and Long programs ; we are looking forward to supporting the IGRINS team and offering this great instrument to the rest of the Gemini community in about a year .
Internally , 2016 was an equally important year , as AURA was awarded a new six-year cooperative agreement to manage the Gemini Observatory — after a long recompetition process launched by the National Science Foundation at the end of 2014 . We can now work closely with the Large Synoptic Survey Telescope project and with the National Optical Astronomy Observatory to streamline and coordinate our operations in Chile ( and beyond ). international publications . And as has become custom over the past few years , Gemini made a strong presence at the recent Society of Women Engineers meeting , joining forces with all the other AURA centers in a large booth to promote engineering positions at the observatories .
Yes , looking back , 2016 was a very successful , productive , and innovative year , and 2017 promises to be exciting as well — with both telescopes fully functional in remote operation mode , more visitor instruments in the queue , and progress being made in upgrades to our facility instruments ( e . g ., the multiobject spectroscopy mode of FLAMINGOS-2 ). Also significant , we have procured a new laser for Gemini South ( and are in the procurement process for Gemini North ); Gemini is rapidly moving towards making laser adaptive optics a true part of our queue operations , rather than it being restricted to a block schedule . Stay tuned , because surely , in 2017 , we will continue Exploring the Universe , Sharing its Wonders !
Markus Kissler-Patig is the Gemini Observatory Director . He can be reached at : mkissler @ gemini . edu
Gemini ’ s public education and outreach remained vibrant throughout the year , hosting its 12th and 6th editions of our flagship programs Journey Through the Universe in Hawai ‘ i and Viaje al Universo in Chile , respectively . These programs paralleled Gemini ’ s many other outreach activities , including the dissemination of numerous press releases that made front page news in national and
2 GeminiFocus January 2017 | 2016 Year in Review