German ARC node/Bonn, Cologne

Host institute 1: Argelander Institute for Astronomy• Research and educational institute, dep. of Physics and

Astronomy, Univ. of Bonn, ~60 staff, ~70 PhD and master students, 9 research groups

• Expertise: star formation, galaxy evolution, ISM in galaxies, obs. cosmology, Milky Way, AGN; grav. lensing, LS structure, dark energy, stellar evolution

• Close ties to Max-Planck-Institute for Radio Astronomy, Univ. of Cologne

Representative: Frank Bertoldi

Name Status FTE Expertise/task

Frank Bertoldi ARC node representative

0.1 Funding, overall management

Stefanie Muehle ARC node manager

0.75 management, training, outreach, user support, mmVLBI

Reinhold Schaaf Staff 0.3 IT support, user sup.

Sandra Burkutean Postdoc 0.5 Short-spacings, web CASA, user support

Alexander Karim Postdoc 0.25 CASA, user support

Benjamin Magnelli Postdoc 0.5 Polarization, user sup.

Toma Badescu PhD student 0.1 User support

German ARC node/Bonn, Cologne

Host institute 2: I. Physikalisches Institut• Research and educational institute, Univ. of Cologne, 6 research

groups• Expertise: Galactic Center, galaxies, nearby QSOs, PDR (obs. +

modelling), large-scale mapping, plan. atmospheres, turbulent clouds, instrumentation

Expertise in the German ARC node:• Cologne Database for Molecular Spectroscopy (CDMS)• Spectral line analysis and radiative transfer tools• Short spacings for continuum data• Polarization

Name Status FTE Expertise/task

Peter Schilke ARC node affiliate

0.2 Funding, Cologne management

Christian Endres Postdoc 0.5 CDMS

Thomas Moeller Postdoc 0.5 myXCLASS, Spectral measurement

Alvaro Sanchez-Monge Postdoc 0.5 myXCLASS, user support

German ARC node/Bonn, Cologne

Major current activities:• User support (including CS, QA2, f2f)• Community Training/Outreach (Community Days, hands-on

workshops, lecture series, tutorials)• Expansion of the Cologne Database for Molecular

Spectroscopy• XCLASS (CASA toolbox for spectral line identification and

fitting)• CASA tools for the combination of single-dish and

interferometric data• Integration of polarization tools into CASA

Funding:• Federal Ministry for Education and Research, 3-year cycle,

last renewed in July 2014 (currently 5 postdocs + IT)• Universities of Bonn and Cologne

German ARC node/Bonn, Cologne

Future perspectives:• Maintain current staffing level• Maintain special expertise and involvement in development projects

as added service to the community• New area of expertise: mm-VLBI with ALMA (with MPIfR, EU-ARC)• Expand training opportunities for broader astronomical community

Issues/concerns:• German constitution does not allow federal agencies long-term

funding of science support structures at universities (under review)o Funding specifically for development projects/German communityo Risk of brain-drain at end of each funding periodo additional lines of funding important

Additional comments:• ES phase proven very useful for training staff, testing procedures etc.• German community seems to prefer formal meetings/workshops over

individual face-to-face visits