AST Committee of Visitors February 2011 Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA) Phil Puxley Program Officer, ALMA

ALMA Science Top-level science objectives: –Image the redshifted dust- continuum emission from evolving galaxies as early as 500Myr after the Big Bang (z~10). –Determine the chemical composition and dynamics of star- forming gas in normal galaxies like the Milky Way but ¾ of the way across the Universe (z~3). –Measure the gas kinematics in young disks in nearby molecular clouds and detect the tidal gaps induced by planet formation. 2

What is ALMA? $1.3 billion international partnership –“North America” (NSF/AUI/NRAO, Canada/HIA and Taiwan/NSC) –Europe (ESO) –“East Asia” (Japan/NAOJ and Taiwan/ASIAA) To build and operate: –At least 50 x 12m telescopes with 4 receiver bands from NA and ESO –4 x 12m and 12 x 7m telescopes in a compact formation, plus 3 receiver bands, from EA –Situated at 5100m on the Chajnantor plain in Northern Chile 3

4 ALMA Management and Organization International agreements establish the partnership and roles of ALMA Board and regional Executives –Bilateral NSF-ESO agreement amended in 2006 and 2007… –Japan contributions finalized; NSF-ESO-NINS agreement amended in 2006 … In North America –NSF is lead agency –AUI is NA Executive, manages NRAO as lead NA institution In Chile, the Executives form the Joint ALMA Observatory –JAO is not a separate legal entity –AUI is employer of all Chilean staff –JAO matrix-manages construction and operations staff from Executives Not shown: Directors Council, IPTs

5 ALMA Program Management at NSF NSF holds seat on ALMA Board and appoints other US members –ALMA Management Advisory Committee, conducts ALMA Annual External Review Five NA members appointed by NSF Consultation with NSF LFP, ALMA PAT, Canada –ALMA Science Advisory Committee Five NA members appointed by NSF Recommended by NRAO, also serve on ANASAC NSF programmatic and managerial oversight: –NSF/AST Program Officer responsible for Programmatic Management of construction and operations –PO supported by Project Advisory Team (MPS, BFA, OGC, OISE, OLPA and LFP) –Large Facility Project division and MREFC panel –NA construction and operations embedded in NRAO; oversight coordinated within AST

6 Program Management Activities NSF member of ALMA Board –Annually, 2 face-to-face meetings and ~7 intervening telecons (and NA caucus meetings…); Budget and Personnel subcommittees Annual budget material preparation and maintenance Daily-weekly discussions with DDD/AST, ALMA NA, AUI, NRAO, JAO project staff Weekly-monthly discussions with DD/LFP, BFA/Grants & Agreements Officer and others in Project Advisory Team –Quarterly PAT meetings Monthly ALMA NA progress reports and face-to-face meetings –Monthly reports to DD LFP (and NSF Director and others) Monthly discussions with international partners Observe and interact with AMAC/AAER, ASAC, ANASAC Site visits (Chajnantor, Santiago, key vendors e.g. Vertex) Domestic and international reviews: e.g. Operations and Annual External Reviews, coordinated with ALMA Board; AST-led reviews Annual program plans and reports Read and digest material, strategic planning etc.

7 ALMA Schedule and Funding (I) Construction and operations co-exist through FY2012 –Strictly separate budgets (MREFC construction, R&RA ops) –Early Science planned to start in 2011, full science in 2013 Construction –Project-wide re-baselining in 2005; bi-lateral array reduced from 64 to 50 antennas and other descopes –NSB authorized 45% increase in funding and schedule extension MREFC total funding of $499.26M (TYD) Current spent down from $8M/month to $4M/month

8 ALMA Schedule and Funding (II) Operations –NSB authorized FY07-FY11 ALMA NA operations profile of $70.52M Establish NAASC, develop operations plans, train staff, user support documentation, outreach, U.S. share of support for facilities handed over from construction From FY08, funded under separate CSA to the NRAO O&M for budget tracking and management –Renewal proposal for FY12-FY15 externally review in mid-2010, submitted to NSB (Feb 2011) –Series of internal project and external reviews in 2010 assessed readiness for Early Science Community access to (16-antenna) subset of array, (4) frequency bands and observing modes Announced in early January: Call for Proposals 31 March, start of Early Science 30 September

Construction Status 33 antennas in Chile 9

Construction Status mm/sub-mm receivers in production 10

Construction Status High site and mid-level facilities constructed 11

Construction Status 12 Antennas Receivers Integration Final North American deliverables

Construction Status Science commissioning is underway 13

14 ALMA Challenges Management and governance complexity Construction –Complete within budget and schedule and scope constraints Currently 81% complete with $22M in contingency (33% of uncommitted budget); cost performance is good but about 5% behind reference schedule –Significant liens on contingency; after known liens and pending change requests, contingency is reduced to $10M (15%) Demonstrating and maintaining production –Pacing items are front-end receivers (near term) and European antennas (to completion) AST is keeping a close eye on performance through reports, site visits and reviews –Encouraged strategic use of contingency to limit exposure to schedule risk

ALMA Challenges Review identified principal issues, risks and challenges as –Permanent power supply - settled on multi-fuel turbine plant; factory testing completed; installation of 23kV distribution system underway –Power and maintenance costs - will review updated ALMA Operations Plan with international partners and assess Chile vs NAASC budget allocation –Risk assessment - AUI/NRAO responded with a comprehensive Risk Management Plan. Principal risks are construction delays, staffing and resource contention, power costs, data (re-)processing capacity. Will assess risk status periodically and review annually. –Complex partnership - commitment to continue to further improve processes and relations at all levels (agency, Board, Executives, ARCs, IPTs) –Management of expectation in Early Science - announcement of ES has been carefully controlled. Priority is completing construction. –Education and outreach Strategic Plan - AUI/NRAO produced responsive plan. Implementation will be reviewed annually. 15

16 Material Available to COV 2008, 2009, 2010 Annual External Review reports and responses 2010 NSF operations review, response and Program Officer’s analysis 2010 NSF/ESO review of AUI’s Chilean labor management 2009 NSF review of schedule and spacing items 2008 external safety review AUI/NRAO and Program Officer’s monthly reports Annual Reports Program Plans …please ask for anything else you would like.

17 Backup Slides

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