[asac] Draft minutes last meeting

[Al Wootten]

Next meeting will be:
 CALL DATE:         DEC-05-2001  (Wednesday)
 CALL TIME:         09:30 AM EASTERN TIME
 DURATION:              1 hr
 USA Toll Free Number: 888-469-0509
 USA Toll Number: +1-312-470-0141
  PASSCODE: 44628
  LEADER:            Dr Al Wootten


Peter produced draft minutes of the last meeting, which I will circulate
here for your information.  Please submit agenda items for the next
meeting to Geoff and to Pierre asap.  Remember to email your preferences
for the next face to face meeting as requested in item 4.  
The International Astronomical Observatories in Chile
Workshop on Galactic Star Formation Across the Stellar 
Mass Spectrum (Chile, March 2002)

  http://www.ctio.noao.edu/workshop2002/


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ALMA Science Advisory Committee


Teleconference, 7 November 2001


Draft Minutes


Participants: R. Bachiller, G. Blake, R. Brown, P. Cox, R. Crutcher, N.
Evans, Y. Fukui, S. Guilloteau, M. Gurwell, T. Hasegawa, M. Ishiguro, R.
Kurz, J. Mangum, H. Matsuo, N. Nakai, J. Richer, S. Sakamoto, P. Shaver,
K. Tatematsu, E. van Dishoeck, S. Yamamoto

The proposed agenda was adopted, and the minutes of the previous meeting
were accepted.


1. U.S. Funding Status

R. Brown announced that the construction of ALMA has been effectively
approved: $12.5 million has been allocated in FY 2002 =93for
construction=94.  The overall budget package still has to be passed by th=
e
House and Senate and signed by the President; these steps should take
place imminently, and appear virtually certain. The ASAC congratulated
the Project on this crucial milestone for ALMA.


2. Status of  Japan

M. Ishiguro summarized the recent developments in Japan. The R & D
budget proposal had been submitted to the Ministry of Finance over the
summer. The Ministry of Finance has since said that it would be
difficult to secure the full budget, and asked NAOJ to consider
participating at a lower level. M. Ishiguro said that even then Japan
would be able to do a considerable part of the project. Japan wants to
make its best efforts to participate, and there are continuing
discussions with the Ministry of Finance. The years 2002/2003 are
currently categorized as R & D for ALMA in Japan; an amount of about
$13-15 million should be available, and there are good prospects for the
12-meter prototype. The main construction budget will start in 2004, and
for that plans will have to be made a year from now. The ACC strongly
supports Japanese participation, even at a level less than one-third of
the total.


3. Results of ACC Meeting, Status of ASAC Charter

R. Kurz started by saying that in Europe, the current plan is for final
project approval in June 2002, although a decision as early as December
is still possible.

He summarized the current status of the project, in the light of the
above developments and the recent meetings in Washington. The focus will
be on the baseline bilateral project, led by the original ACC and AEC,
while maintaining close communication and coordination with Japan. In
the latter context, the E-ACC will still exist and will meet about once
per year, and the ALG will be resurrected to provide relevant input. The
ASAC will continue with the same full composition it has currently, and
the chair and vice-chair will rotate between the European and North
American partners.

The AEC has been asked by the ACC to have an updated bilateral project
plan ready by 1 February 2002 ($552 million total). It is essential to
proceed with the International Project Office, and to implement the
IPTs, as soon as possible.

At its meeting the ACC expressed its appreciation for the considerable
work by the ASAC on the enhancements for the trilateral project, the
operations plan, and other inputs. The ACC has not made decisions on the
operations plan yet, and will need continuing ASAC input.

The antenna procurement issues were briefly discussed, and also the
access to the land in Chile, for which legal opinion has recently been
obtained.

G. Blake called for comments on the current ASAC Charter, as this is
intended for review by the ACC in its December teleconference.


4. Next ASAC Face-to-Face Meeting
Y. Fukui proposed that the next ASAC face-to-face meeting take place in
Tokyo or Nagoya on 19-20 March 2002, with an ALMA Science Day to follow
on the 21st. Another possibility may be one week earlier (12-14 March).
ASAC members were asked to e-mail their preferences to all three
Chairs/Vice Chairs: G. Blake, P. Cox, and Y. Fukui.


5. Ongoing investigations: Simulations, Operations

S. Guilloteau said that the report on the ACA would be ready as an ALMA
memo by the end of the week. The simulator will be made generally
available. He also said that configuration studies were needed to make
sure that the ACA could be accommodated. New studies have started on
single dish observing techniques, and a report on these is expected by
the end of the month.

On Operations, Neal Evans raised the question of how to move forward.
Issues could include the RSCs, and the ALMA TAC. P. Cox mentioned that a
meeting on the European RSC is scheduled to take place in Paris on 7
December, and G. Blake said that he would discuss steps for the North
American RSC with C. Wilson. Concerning the TAC, it was proposed to
collect information on TACs from other facilities, as a starting point
for discussion. As mentioned above, the ACC just =93took note=94 of the A=
SAC
recommendations on operations, and would like continuing ASAC input.


6. AOB

P. Shaver conveyed the good news that Karl Menten has made significant
progress in the last few weeks, and ASAC members are encouraged to send
e-mail message to Karl via his secretary Edith Fingas
(efingas at mpifr-bonn.mpg.de).


7. Next teleconference

The next ASAC teleconference will take place on Wednesday 5 December at
14:30 UT.