national radio astronomy observatory nrao

20
AST Committee of Visitors 2011 1 National Radio Astronomy Observatory NRAO Vernon Pankonin Program Officer

Upload: urban

Post on 05-Feb-2016

52 views

Category:

Documents


0 download

DESCRIPTION

National Radio Astronomy Observatory NRAO. Vernon Pankonin Program Officer. NRAO World leading facilities for this decade and beyond. EVLA. GBT. VLBA. ALMA. 2. NSF >> AUI >> NRAO. Governing document is Cooperative Agreement with Associated Universities, Inc. (AUI) - PowerPoint PPT Presentation

TRANSCRIPT

Page 1: National Radio Astronomy Observatory NRAO

AST Committee of Visitors 2011 1

National Radio Astronomy Observatory

NRAO

Vernon PankoninProgram Officer

Page 2: National Radio Astronomy Observatory NRAO

NRAO World leading facilities for this decade and

beyond

2

EVLA

VLBA

ALMA

GBT

Page 3: National Radio Astronomy Observatory NRAO

3

NSF >> AUI >> NRAO

• Governing document is Cooperative Agreement with Associated Universities, Inc. (AUI)– Funding flows through Cooperative Support Agreements

(CSAs), which are subunits of the Cooperative Agreement.

• CSA-1: NRAO Base Operations & Maintenance (V. Pankonin)

• CSA-2: ALMA Operations (P. Puxley)

Page 4: National Radio Astronomy Observatory NRAO

4

NSF >> AUI >> NRAO

• NRAO is managed by Associated Universities Inc (AUI), Washington, DC, under Cooperative Agreement with the NSF.– AUI is a not-for-profit science management corporation. – AUI manages operation of NRAO, including ALMA.– AUI is the North American executive for the Atacama Large Millimeter

Array (ALMA). – AUI corporate headquarters are located in Washington, DC.– There are five officers and staff in the corporate office. – The President of AUI is its Chief Executive Officer.

• Budgets FY 2010– NRAO Operations & Maintenance, including EVLA construction and

ALMA operations. • $67.09 M; ~420 FTE

– ALMA Construction• $64.3 M

Page 5: National Radio Astronomy Observatory NRAO

5

NRAOStrategic Goals

1. Increase the scientific impact of the NRAO;

2. Be a resource for all astronomers and the public;

3. Advance the state-of-the-art in mission-related technology; and

4. Play a leading role in developing next-generation programs.

Page 6: National Radio Astronomy Observatory NRAO

AST Committee of Visitors 2011 6

AST Program ManagementProgram Officer Activities

• AST Program Officer does NOT manage the Observatory. • Program Officer is NOT the Observatory’s representative in NSF.• Program Officer has stewardship responsibility supported through the

following activities -- – Craft the Cooperative Agreement and its subunits that govern the oversight,

management, and operation of NRAO.– Oversee administration of programmatic aspects of the Cooperative Agreement.– Administer funding actions (quarterly). – Administer proposals submitted by AUI/NRAO, including renewal of the

Cooperative Agreement. – Prepare and communicate information and action items to the NSB.– Assist in developing budget requests within NSF.– Work with AUI and NRAO to build realistic budget expectations for Program

Plans and Long Range Plans.– Convene special reviews.– Review and approve reports – Quarterly, Annual, Special.– Review Program Plan and Long Range Plan.– Visit sites.– Generate publicity items to be used in NSF reports, presentations, and other

official communications. .

Page 7: National Radio Astronomy Observatory NRAO

Primary Management Events

• Renewal of Coop Agreement– Not competed– Proposal from AUI in 2008– Review summer 2008– NSB action May 2009– New CA effective 1 October 2009

7

Page 8: National Radio Astronomy Observatory NRAO

Scientific/Technical Events

• EVLA– Construction/implementation project 2001 –

2012– Last construction funds 2011– VLA ceased Jan 2010– EVLA era began Mar 2010

AST Committee of Visitors 2011 8

Page 9: National Radio Astronomy Observatory NRAO

9

The Prime Challenges

– ALMA must be a success.• ALMA operations must be supported.

– EVLA must be a success.

• Operate– ALMA, EVLA, GBT, VLBA (@1/2)

NRAO 2008 Budget Breakdown -- $52.7 M

O&M Base $38.9

EVLA Constr $6.0

ALMA Ops Chile $5.1

ALMA Ops NA $2.7

NRAO 2015 Budget Breakdown -- $88 M

O&M Base $49

ALMA Ops NA $16

ALMA Ops Chile $23

Page 10: National Radio Astronomy Observatory NRAO

AST Committee of Visitors 2008 10

NRAO in 6 Years

• Headquarters, Charlottesville, VA• North American ALMA Science Center

(NAASC) – full operation• NRAO Technology Center (NTC) – taking on

ALMA development projects• Green Bank Telescope @ 90 GHz• Expanded Very Large Array – full operation• Very Long Baseline Array @ ½ AST ops cost• Array Operations Center (AOC)• ALMA – full operation• SKA development

Page 11: National Radio Astronomy Observatory NRAO

AST Committee of Visitors 2011 11

Page 12: National Radio Astronomy Observatory NRAO

The Big Event

• Competition of the award for operation and maintenance of NRAO, including ALMA.– Never done, over 50 years

• Activity begins early 2013.

• New cooperative agreement from 1 Oct 2016

AST Committee of Visitors 2011 12

Page 13: National Radio Astronomy Observatory NRAO

AST Committee of Visitors 2011 13

Material Available to COV

• NSB package for renewal of cooperative agreement– FY 2010 through 2015

• Cooperative Agreement• Long Range Plans• Program Operating Plans• Annual Reports• Samples of Other Reports• Reports of NSF Sponsored Reviews

Page 14: National Radio Astronomy Observatory NRAO

AST Committee of Visitors 2011 14

NRAO – CHARLOTTESVILLE. VA

NRAO HQ

North American ALMA Science Center (NAASC)

NRAO Technology Center (NTC)

• Central Development Lab

• ALMA Electronics Division

Page 15: National Radio Astronomy Observatory NRAO

AST Committee of Visitors 2011 15

NRAO – GREEN BANK, WV

• Single dish, off-axis feed• 100m x 110m diameter• Frequency range

– 0.3 GHz to 50 (90) GHz

• Green Bank Operations– 2007 budget: $10.4 M– 109 FTE– 40,000 visitors annually

Robert C. Byrd Green Bank TelescopeGBT

Page 16: National Radio Astronomy Observatory NRAO

AST Committee of Visitors 2011 16

NRAO – NEW MEXICO

• 27 25 m dishes, in a variable-spacing Y-configuration interferometer,

• Frequency range:– 1-50 GHz (not continuous)

• Upgrade through the Expanded Very Large Array (EVLA) project

– $94 M (NSF and correlator from Canada)– 2001 through 2011– Same number of antennas.– All-new telescope electronics.

• Continuous freq coverage from 1–50 GHz

• Exceedingly capable correlator (from Canada)

– Array data transmission via fiber optics.

Very Large Array (VLA) Expanded Very Large Array (EVLA)

Page 17: National Radio Astronomy Observatory NRAO

AST Committee of Visitors 2011 17

NRAO – NEW MEXICO

• 10 25m antennas spread from Mauna Kea to St. Croix.

• Operations center in Socorro, NM• Frequency range:

– 0.3 GHz – 50 GHz (not continuous)

• Best angular resolution: 0.1 mas************************************

• New Mexico Operations VLA & VLBA– 2007 budget: $16.9 M– 172 FTE

Very Long Baseline ArrayVLBA

Page 18: National Radio Astronomy Observatory NRAO

AST Committee of Visitors 2011 18

NRAO -- CHILE

• North America (U.S., Canada)-European (ESO)-East Asia (Japan, Taiwan) partnership

• Northern Chile site at 16,500 feet altitude

• Scope: 54 12m antennas + 12 7m antennas

• Cost: $1.3 B • 11-year construction

timeline; completion in 2012

Atacama Large Millimeter ArrayALMA

More detail in the next presentation

Page 19: National Radio Astronomy Observatory NRAO

AST Committee of Visitors 2011 19

NRAO Broader Impact Activities

• Green Bank Science Center– Funded by appropriation through NASA– Completed in 2003– Hosts ~40,000 visitors per year– Includes exhibit hall, lecture rooms, classrooms, gift shop, and

an atrium with food service– Bunk house added nearby in 2004 to house large overnight

groups

• Expanded VLA visitors center (2004)– Funded by state of New Mexico– Now attended– Addition of gift shop– Hosts ~20,000 visitors per year

Page 20: National Radio Astronomy Observatory NRAO

AST Committee of Visitors 2008 20

Broader Impacts (cont’d)

GBT Student Support Program– Supports graduate students up to $45,000 each per year for

observing runs, data reduction, and stipends.– Paid from NRAO Ops.

• Undergraduate Summer Research Program– Partially funded through REU Site program, with AST funding not

from NRAO base.• Graduate summer student research assistantships• Pre-doctoral research program• Co-op Program• Radio Astronomy for Teachers• Short Courses for Teachers• Workshops• Research Experience for Teachers

– With NSF funding not from NRAO base.• ALMA EPO Program under development in coordination

with international partners.