NOIRLabTACOrienta1onfor2020BVerneV.Smith,MiaHartman,ChaddMyers,AdamScoC

FirstRemote/VirtualTAC•  VirusesandtheTAC– 2018Bchaosfromcomputerviruses(Meltdown,Spectre)

– 2020Bhumanvirus:restrictedtravelandphysicaldistancing

•  ViaBluejeans– considerthemedium•  awareofmuteon/off•  delayinspeaking

– politeness•  Text

NSFNOIRLabOverview•  NOIRLabisaFederallyFundedResearchand

DevelopmentCenter(FFRDC):“toconductresearchfortheUSGovernment”

•  TheAssocia1onofUniversi1esforResearchforAstronomy(AURA)operatesNOIRLabunderacoopera1veagreementwiththeNSF

•  PartoftheNOIRLabmissionstatement...”topromoteexcellenceinastronomicalresearchbyprovidingaccesstoinforma1onabouttheuniversefromstate-of-the-artfacili1es,surveys,andarchives.”

•  In2020BNOIRLabprovidespublicopen-accessto:–  KiCPeak(WIYN3.5m,0.9m)–  CerroTololo(4m,SMARTSà1.5m,0.9m)–  CerroPachon(Gemini-S8m,SOAR4.2m)–  Maunakea(Gemini8m,Subaru8m)–  Mt.Wilson(CHARA6x1m)–  SidingSprings(AAT4m)–  LasCumbresObservatory(1mand2m‘saroundtheworld)

WorkplaceConductPolicy

NSFiscommiCedtoprovidingasafeandrespeceulworkenvironment,freeofanyformofharassment.AllNOIRLabpar1cipa1ngandcollabora1ngorganiza1onstakethisresponsibilityveryseriously.NOIRLabstaffaresubjecttothepoliciesofitsopera1ngorganiza1on,theAssocia1onofUniversi1esforResearchinAstronomy(AURA).Collabora1ngpersonnelarealsosubjecttothevariousspecifican1-harassmentpoliciesoftheiremployingorganiza1ons.Addi1onally,theNa1onalScienceFounda1on'sDirectorateforMathema1calandPhysicalScienceshaschargedAURAwithestablishingandpublicizingpoliciesandmethodsforrepor1ngharassment.Theseprac1cesandprocedureswillapplytoNOIRLabpersonnelaswellastoallscienceandbusinessassociates,andallpublicandothervisitorstoNOIRLabfacili1es.

Repor1ngHarassmentIfatany1meyoufeelthatamemberoftheNOIRLabcommunity,regardlessoforganiza1onalaffilia1on,isviola1nganyoftheseprinciplesandstandards,pleasereportitpromptly!YoushouldreportissuestoNOIRLaborAURAHumanResources,toyoursupervisor,principalinves1gator,departmentchair,ethicsorlegalrepresenta1ves,asapplicable,ortheTACmee1ngHost,MiaHartman.

2020BProposalSta1s1cs•  Inaddi1onthereare:

–  NOIRLabSurveys(upto20%)

–  GeminiLargePrograms(upto20%)

–  GeminiFastTurnaround(upto10%)

Telescope RequestedNights

AvailableNights(newprograms)

Oversubscrip=on

Gemini-N8m 149 64 2.3

Gemini-S8m 132 59 2.2

Subaru8m 9 2 4.5

CTIO4m 114 60 1.9

AAT4m 27 10 2.7

SOAR4.2m 113 35 3.2

WIYN3.5m 96 30 3.2

LCO2m 78 22 3.5

LCO1m 172 118 1.5

CTIO1.5m 66 48 1.1

CTIO0.9m 8 18 0.4

KPNO0.9m 28 22 1.3

CHARA 63 24 2.6

OverviewoftheTAC•  NOIRLabTAChas8panels– 3Extragalac1c,3Galac1c,1SolarSystem,1NASA/NNEXPLORE(WIYN(NEID)+1.5m/CHIRON+MINERVAAustralis)Exoplanet

– 5panelmembers+1non-vo1ng,neutralChair

•  Panelreviewassignments– Basedonpanel+individualexper1se,sciencethemes,andtelescope

– Trytominimizeconflictsofinterest

TACProcess1.  Panelsprovidescien1ficranking(basedongradeswithin

eachpanel–pleasesendinpreliminarygradeson1me!Lategradesimpacttheini1alpaneldiscussion

2.  PanelChairsconveyrankingandrecommenda1onstoMergingTACmee1ngthisFriday

3.  MergingTACcombineslists,&resolvesanyconflicts4.  MSODirectorreviewsalloca1on,approves1mealloca1on

withanofficial“signoff”-theTACisadvisorytotheDirector5.RankedlistssubmiCedtotelescopeschedulers-differentforeachtelescope/observatory6.Whenalltelescopesarescheduled,leCersgoouttoPI’s

TACTimeline/Flowchartfor2020B

•  4–7May:RegularTACPanelmee1ngs•  8May:MergingTAC•  13May:MSODirectorreview•  15May:RankedGeminilistsenttoGemini•  15June:AllapprovedLCOprogramsenteredintoLCOdatabase–  LCOhasadifferent1meline

•  LaterinMay:Rankedliststootherobservatories•  2June:GeminiITAC(US,CA,BR,AR,CH,HI,RoK)•  15June*–schedulesready,leCers(OK,e-mails)sent•  1August2020:Semester2020B…andwe’reoff

*Variesabitbyobservatory

ImplicitBias

•  NOIRLab(andAURAcenters,ingeneral)hasmadeandismakingprogressininformingstaffandastronomycommunitymembersontheaffectthatimplicitbiascanplayinevalua1ngcreden1alsortheworkofastronomers(inhiring,promo1on,recogni1on,etc.)

•  Asahumanevalua1onprocess,theTACmaybeinfluencedbyimplicitbias

•  RemovalofPIandco-Inamesfromfrontpageandfullfirstnamestoini1als

•  Researchshowssimplytalkingaboutimplicitbiasalsohelps•  FeedbackontheNOIRLabTACprocessiswelcome

Thebiasinjudgmentand/orbehaviorthatresultsfromsubtlecogni7veprocesses(e.g.,implicita<tudesorstereotypes)thatoperateatalevelbelowconsciousawarenessandwithoutinten7onalcontrol.Theunderlyingimplicita<tudesandstereotypesresponsibleforimplicitbiasarethosebeliefsorsimpleassocia7onsthatapersonmakesbetweenanobjectanditsevalua7onthatareac7vatedautoma7callybytheactualorsymbolicpresenceoftheobject.

TACProcessReviewandUpgrade•  TheTACprocessiswellrespectedandheldasastandardintheastronomical

community.•  NOIRLabstrivestohaveourTACprocessasstreamlined&userfriendlyaspossible.•  Thisrequirescon1nuousimprovementtoadapttotheneedsofthescien1fic

communityandthetechnologyavailable.•  Inthecomingyears,wewillbeupgradingourTACsystemandprocessesinorderto:

•  ModernizeTACsystemtotakeadvantageofnewertechnologies•  Iden1fyandremoveoldandoutdatedinforma1on•  Mi1gatebiaswithintheevalua1onprocess•  BeCerautomateprocesses•  Incorporatecommondatatosimplifycommunica1onwiththetelescopesand

acrossotherNOIRLabprocesses.•  Wehopemuchofthisimprovementwillbetransparenttopanelmembers,butwill

greatlyenhancetheNOIRLabTACexperienceforourstaffandthecommunity.

KPNONews:2020B•  4-meterMayall– DESIinstalledandundergoingcommissioning–  Takingspectra

•  WIYN3.5m– NNEXPLOREprogramhaspriority– NEIDcommissioningcon1nues

•  plannedcommissioningnightsin2020B•  willbeoperatedinqueue

– Allinstrumentsofferedbutnote:•  NeitherHYDRA+NESSInorHYDRA+WHIRCcanbescheduledinsameblock

– Non-NNEXPLOREproposalsshouldberanked(maybescheduledtofillgaps)

– Upto22nightsavailableonWIYN0.9mw/HDI

CTIO/SOAR/SMARTSNews:2020B•  CTIO4mBlanco:instrumentsavailable

–  DECam:–  COSMOS:availableinallmodes(imaging,long&mul1-slit)

•  LotsofdemandfromNOIRLabsurveys–especiallyonDECam•  SeveralToOproposals

–  DECamLIGOproposals

•  SOAR4.2m:instrumentsavailable:–  Goodman:inallmodes–  SOI–  Spartan–  SAM–  TripleSpec4.1

•  SOARToOproposals(withGoodman)–  AEONnights

•  1.5-mCHIRON:–  ~18nightsavailableforopenaccess–  300hoursavailableforNNEXPLORE–serviceobserving

•  0.9-mCCDdirect:–  18nightsavailabletoNOIRLabTAC

GeminiNews:2020B•  Visi1ngInstruments– Alopeke(GN),Zorro(GS)– MAROON-X(GN)–  IGRINS(GS)

•  Schedulingfor2020B– Flexibility–  ITACdateuncertain(thisdate“startstheclock”onthe20Bprocess)

– NOIRLabwillforwardasmanyprogramssothatGeminihasop1onstoplan20B

ReviewCriteria-I

•  Scien=ficmerit–  Specificscien1ficgoals+largerrelevance–  Mayincludeindirectscien1ficbenefit

•  Experimentaldesign–  Solid,wellthought-out–  Feasible(seeonlinetechnicalreviews;askforclarifica1onif

needed)—

•  BroaderImpact–  Relevancetoeduca1on,publicoutreach,par1cipa1onof

underrepresentedgroups:gender/ethnicity/otherunderservedminori1es/ins1tu1ons/geography,etc.

•  Otherfactors–  Prioralloca1ons,needforcomple1on/con1nuity–  Pastproduc1vity–  Cantheteamcarrytheprojecttocomple1on

hCp://www.nsf.gov/pubs/1999/iin125/iin125.html

ReviewCriteria-II•  NOIRLabhasanopenskiespolicy–anyonecanapply.

•  ForUSproposers,otheraccessisNOTacriterion.•  Forforeignproposers,werequestajus1fica1onforwhytheprojectcannotbedonewithfacili1estowhichtheyhaveaccess;however,

-Scien1ficmerit+Broaderimpact•  Finally:trynottomicromanageproposalrequests.

TACPanelProcedures-I•  Chairhasla1tudeinorganizingdiscussion•  Panelvo1ng-open(nosecretballots,please)

–  Panelistscanprovidechanges(“upapoint”,etc.)–  Starteachgrade-changeroundwithprimaryreviewer

•  Typicallytwopassesbypanels–  Pleasetrytofinish1stpasstoday,2ndpasstomorrowbeforelunch–  AlldiscussionsmusthaveChairpresent–  Pleaseconsidertechnicalreviewswhenreviewingrankedliston2ndday

•  (askforassistanceifques1onsarise)•  FinalwriCencommentsduebefore5pmtomorrow•  ProvideanyfeedbackonprocesstoChair•  Pleasefinishby5:00PMoneachday

•  Pre-mee1ngforChairstomorrow@8:30AMinMainConferenceRoom

TACPanelProcedures-II•  Longtermstatus

–  Approveonlyifaddi1onalobserva1onsneededtoanswerques1on

•  Proprietaryperiod–  Extendonlyifscien1ficallywarranted

•  PhDThesisprojects–  Noofficialweigh1ngbut…–  Ifacommitmenthasalreadybeenmade,pleaseconsidercarefully–  Maywishtoconsiderbroaderimpacts

•  FinalRankedList–  Includeallproposals–  Removeanygradedegeneracies(manually,e.g.0.01)–  Usezeronightsonlyforproposalsthatshouldnotbescheduled–  Longterm/Proprietaryperiodextensions:providerecommenda1on–  Chairs:recordissuesforMergingTAC

•  Feedback–  ChairscancompilepanelcommentsonprocessforfeedbacktoNOAO

ConflictsofInterest•  TACgoalisaninformed,unbiaseddiscussionofeachproposal

•  Donotreviewproposalsorlistentodiscussionsonwhichyouareaco-IorPI(!)

•  Donotreviewproposalsonwhichyourclosecolleague/collaborator/student/rela1ve/spouseisaPI/co-I:ourknowledgeaboutyouisincomplete

•  Ifthereissomethingyoufeelcouldpoten1allybeaconflictorabiasletusknow

•  Ifyouhaveinsightsonaproposalonwhichyouareconflictedandarenotgrading,beopenandprovidethemfairly(ifyoucan).

•  IfChairisconflictedwewillfindatemporaryChairtoleaddiscussionforthatproposal

Wri1ngComments-I•  Guidingprinciple:AskyourselfifyouwouldbeOKreceivingthesecomments!

•  Bebrief,clear,andpolite•  Beaccurate–‘don’tmakestuffup’

–  iftheproposalisgoodbutfailsbecauseofoversubscrip1onyoucansaythis

•  Befair-Judgetheproposalonitsmerits

•  Beconstruc1ve,ifpossible-howcouldtheproposalhavebeenbeCer?•  Writeincompletesentences•  Please,noslang,jargonorinterjec1ons•  Trynottoposeunanswerable/rhetoricalques1ons

Wri1ngcomments-II•  Leadreviewerscompilefinalcomments–  Pleaseuseweb-basedformonTACWebPage–  SummarizewriCencommentsandpaneldiscussions,andcheck“completed”box

•  PanelChairs:–  Pleasereviewfinalcomments,alongwithyourpanel!–  Donotadjournpanelun1lyouhavecheckedallcomments

Confiden1ality•  Allproposals,TACreviews,TACdiscussion,andcommentsarestrictlyconfiden7al– PleasedonotdiscussproposalsoutsideyourTACpanelwithcolleaguesofotherpanels,oranyoneelse

Logisi1cs•  Assistantforeachpanel•  Ifanyissuesarise,Assistantcanhelp– MiaHartman,ChaddMyers,VerneSmithavailableallday

•  Chairs:itisavirtualmee1ng,butpleasescheduleregularbreaks,plus~1-hour“lunch”break

•  TACDinnertonightat“VotreMaison”

SpecialThanksTo:•  MiaHartman–TACProgramCoordinator•  AdamScoCandChaddMeyers–So~wareSupport/Database

ArchitectsandDevelopers•  JessicaHarris,DavidHerrera,DaraNorman,JessicaRose,

HeidiSchweiker,KarleyneSilva,NicolevanderBliek–TACAssistants

•  CTIO,Subaru,AAO,NESSI/DSSI/’Alopeke,WIYN/NASAGOteamsfortechnicalreviews.

____________________________________________________•  Note:JacquelineKeane&VerneSmith–leadreviewer

assignments

FirstRemote/VirtualTAC