Markus Kissler-Patig
Director’s Message
2014: What Lies Ahead
Gemini is starting in this new year with great expectations. There is much to look forward to
in 2014. We are introducing several key changes to our operations, perfecting several new
instruments at Gemini South, and hosting a couple of visiting instruments again at Gemini
North. 2014 also marks the second year of our three-year transition to a 20 percent reduced
budget, and many modifications and cost-reduction measures continue to take place internally. Our goal is for these adjustments to only be noticed positively, if at all, by our users.
The Operations Side
The community response to our new Large and Long Programs has surpassed expectations.
We’ve received 31 proposals, which add up to a much larger over-subscription factor than
for regular programs! These programs will provide us with a great opportunity to test the
new priority visiting observing mode intended to mitigate weather loss during classical runs
and encourage more users to come and visit our telescopes. Learn more about this observing mode at: http://www.gemini.edu/node/11101?q=node/12096.
In response to a request from the Users’ Committee, we’ll offer a further incentive for classical observing with our new “bring-one, get-one (almost) free” plan: We will subsidize, with
$2,000, each observing visit of a student accompanying a more experienced classical observer. Apply for this opportunity now, since the offer is, at least initially, for a limited time only.
In other operations news, our fast-turnaround proposal scheme is currently being scrutinized by an external review committee. This program, which is intended to greatly decrease
the time from having an idea, to acquiring the supporting data, will combine frequent proposal submission opportunities, rapid review, and fast preparation and execution of observations. We aim to launch the scheme at the end of this year and have it complement both
the regular and the large and long proposal programs.
April 2014
GeminiFocus
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