tionary observing time to two individuals
who will be selected based on the usefulness
of their posts.
New: Large and Long Programs
at Gemini
Gemini offered a new proposal mode, for
Large and Long Programs (LPs), with first
observations in Semester 2014B.
The participating partners — United States,
Canada, Australia, and Argentina — contributed up to 20 percent of their time to a common pool for these programs. As a guideline, LPs either require significantly more
time than a partner typically approves for a
single program, or are extend over two to six
semesters, or both.
Large programs are expected to promote
collaborations across the partnership’s communities, have significant scientific impact,
and, normally, provide a homogeneous data
set potentially for more general use. PIs must
be based in an institution of one of the participating partner countries, though there is
no restriction on Co-investigator affiliation.
With the LPs, Gemini will also introduce a
new observing mode, “priority visiting observing.” In this mode, the PI or team member comes to Gemini prepared to observe
either their own program, if the conditions
are sufficiently good, or execute approved
queue programs, if the conditions are too
poor for the LP.
The LP will be charged only for time devoted
to the program, and additional observations
may be made by Gemini staff during the
semester. With this mode and that of traditional “classical” observing, we encourage
the benefits of being directly involved with
the program team in observing, and their
interaction with Gemini staff who also support the program.
January2014
LPs will be reviewed through a dedicated
LP Time Allocation Committee, and the process will bring additional application and
reporting requirements. Specifically, Letters
of Intent will be required in advance, the
proposal will include a management plan
component in addition to the usual scientific justification, and approved programs
will be reviewed annually.
There may be additional partner-specific procedures or requirements, as well. Complete
details will be available with the Announcement of Opportunity, which Gemini expects
to release in early December 2013. Proposals
will be due around the usual 2014B deadline at the end of March 2014. Instruments
and observing modes that are fully commissioned at the time of the announcement of
opportunity will be open for LPs; a specific
list will be provided at that time.
Development of the Fast
Turnaround Mode
The foundation for a new mode of proposing at Gemini is being laid with an initiative
called Fast Turnaround Program. This new
concept underwent considerable development in 2013 and is poised for implementation later in 2014. This mode of proposing
is intended to provide a means for submitting proposals that have time constraints
due to their dynamic or time-dependent
nature. As 2013 closes, both the STAC and
Gemini Board have approved the concept,
and work is well-along to develop internal
procedures to assure a successful launch.
Andy Adamson is Gemini’s Associate Director of
Operations and can be contacted at:
[email protected]
Contributing authors from Gemini’s staff: Rodrigo Carrasco, Inger Jørgensen, Sandy Leggett,
Bryan Miller, Benoit Neichel, Bernadette Rodgers, and Chris Yamasaki
GeminiFocus
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