GeminiFocus April 2017 | Page 4

in the era of the Large Synoptic Survey Tele- scope. From these discussions has emerged a consensus vision for a new National Center for Optical-infrared Astronomy (NCOA) that would combine operations of the current National Optical Astronomy Observatory (NOAO) and Gemini facilities with the future operations of the Large Synoptic Survey Telescope (LSST) system. Such an evolution would present many ad- vantages for Gemini and provide a host of opportunities for the Observatory to de- velop; opportunities that it would not have if it remained “stand-alone.” The NCOA vision foresees a single, coherent scientific and ser- vice organization to exploit scientific syn- ergies among several Optical and Infrared (OIR) facilities, including in the domain of in- struments, data systems, and datasets. By taking advantage of economies of scale, NCOA would eliminate operations redun- dancies and thereby maximize scientific return-on-investment. Furthermore, NCOA would be a natural nucleus for public-private and international partnerships to design, construct, and operate future facilities and capabilities. Current NCOA planning fully recognizes that NCOA will participate in many activities as partners, not owner-operators. This recog- nition is especially important for LSST and Gemini, but is also relevant to the WIYN Ob- servatory, Southern Astrophysical Research (SOAR) Telescope, Dark Energy Survey, etc. As such, the NCOA concept fully respects that such partnerships have independ