[alma_na] January and February 2002 Bi-Lateral Meeting Minutes

[Carolyn White]

ALMA Bi-lateral DH/TL Meeting - 2002-Jan-28

Attendees: Avery, Baars, Baudry, Brown, Cunningham, Ellison, Glendenning,
Gray, Ishiguro, Payne, Perfetto, Porter, Radford, Rafal, Sakamoto, Simon,
Sramek, Stanghellini, Tan, Webber, White, Wild, Wootten

Brown stated that the AEC will submit a Management Plan to the ACC.  It is
now the time for all of us to review the document to make sure this is the
structure that we want.  Changes are easier to make now than later.  The
AEC submitted a draft of the Plan to the IPT leaders and deputies.  The
AEC is soliticing comments from all.

An extensive and far-reaching discussion on the topic of the IPT
management structure followed.  Among the points made were these:

  - If there is a disagreement between the IPT Leader and the Deputy
    Leader, the Leader should be able to decide the issue but both Project
    Managers should be informed of the lack of consensus.

  - Owing to differences in tasks faced by the differences in tasks faced
    by the different IPTs we may encounter problems with a
    "one-size-fits-all" management approach.

  - We need a plan to manage the construction tasks for each IPT.  How
    will this be defined?

  - System engineering may present special problems because its "products"
    are services not tangibles.  Moreover, the interaction with the IPO is
    tighter than for other IPTs.

The funding agencies believe the ALMA Project is a joint venture between
Europe and North American and hopefully soon Japan.  The guiding
principle is to have two equal partners and to use the existing
institutions.  ALMA is truly unique in this manner.  Discussion followed.

Jaap Baars described the planning for ALMA week.  The goal is to take
advantage of many of the ALMA staff being in one place.  Two or more
design reviews are planned.  More than 100 particpants are expected.

A short discussion of major project milestones highlighted those tasks
that drive the construction project schedule.  The DH/TLs will review the
milestones for their areas.

Next Meeting:  February 25.

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ALMA Bi-lateral DH/TL Meeting - 2002-Feb-25

Attendees: Avery, Baudry, Brown, Chikada, Cunningham, Glendenning, Gray,
Hasegawa, Ishiguro, Kingsley, Kurz, Morita, Payne, Perfetto, Porter,
Radford, Rafal, Raffi, Simon, Sramek, Tan, Webber, White, Wild, Wootten

ALMA Week
---------
Brown wanted to clarify what was prepared for ALMA Week and what others
anticipated.  The major meetings for the week include the Front End
Cartridge Meetings for three days, the Back End PDR for three days, and
the Computing Meeting for four days.

Cunningham and Wild are preparing for the Front End Cartridge Meeting.
The major goal of the meeting is to kickoff the cartridge design, which
includes ideas of the design layouts and the interfaces to other
subsystems.  There is no agenda yet.

Baudry and Sramek are preparing the Back End PDR.  This will be a wide
ranging PDR to include, but not be limited to, data transmission,
digital/multiduplexing boards, digitizer design, etc.  The review panel
membership is still pending.  There will be four to six sidebar
meetings as well to include detailed design discussions.  We need to make
sure rooms and announcements are made.

The computing and software meetings are planned as well.  The SSR
meeting is planned by Lucas.  The topics include discussion of: 1) offline
requirements; 2) the role of the SSR in Phase II; and the 3) audit of
offline packages.  We will also be having a Phase II kickoff meeting for
the subsystem.  The draft subsystem agreements will be prepared before
the meeting; these should be finalized before July 1, 2002.

Smaller meetings include a review meeting for the progress that has been
made since the last Calibration Meeting in Cambridge.  The
group also plans to review the Project Book chapter.

Conway will review the current array configur plans and progress made
since the January 2002 meeting.  Also plan to review the site development
planning for the rest of the Project.  Please make sure Conway is added to
Baars list of attendees.

The System Engineering group is in the process of revising their agenda.
Gray and Tan will describe the overview of system engineering and
introduce the Project to the document management system.  An agenda will
be sent out later this week.

Payne's group plans further discussion toward a direct photonic route
local oscillator.

The AEC project status update will be presented at the beginning of the
meeting for the entire group as well as a summary of results at the end
of the week.

Brown requested comments from the group on what they would like the AEC to
present.  Members suggested:

	- more ATF planning at the beginning of the meeting.
	- a possibility of having IPT leaders and deputies give a subsystem
	update.
	- schedule milestone updates
	- overview of project structure
	- review of operations and when the operations plan will plan be
	- available
	- status of International Project Office

Baars plans to have an updated agenda available by the end of the week.

Contact cwhite at nrao.edu if you need hotel forms.

Kurz reported on the intent of BN to give the direct concession of the
ALMA Project.

Rafal reported on the 2003 budget request from Bush.  The funding
for ALMA Construction in 2003 in the US is currently budgeted for $30 M.
Finalization of budget should be known near the end of the summer.

Our next meeting is planned for March 23.