NSF Program Update Astronomy & Astrophysics Advisory Committee 13 February 2006

Update Topics General news General news FY2006 Current Plan FY2006 Current Plan FY2007 Request FY2007 Request Grants program Grants program New Faces in AST New Faces in AST Senior Review Senior Review

General ALMA Project ALMA Project   NA Antenna procurement   Baseline Review results   ESO Antenna decision   Delta Cost review/NA management review   Late January/February   Validate cost increase because of two antenna designs   Examine NA cost and management in depth (NSF led)   NSB recommendation/action expected May 2006

General NSO – ATST NSO – ATST  NSF Director moved to ‘readiness’ phase  Environmental Impact study underway  Partnerships with Air Force and international communities under discussion  AST continues to provide funding (~$2M) within NSO  Earliest likely entry to MREFC account is FY2009

General VERITAS VERITAS  Draft Environmental Assessment completed in Nov 2005  Environmental monitoring continues until June 2006  Held consultation with Tohono O’odham in January  Progress continues at Whipple Observatory base camp  Earliest possible construction resumption on Kitt Peak is ~ July 2006

General Virtual Observatory Virtual Observatory  MOU between NSF and NASA is circulating for final clearance  Program solicitation ready for clearance, waiting for MOU signature  Still anticipate competition in FY2006  Funds available to ensure smooth transition from NVO development project to VO implementation

FY2006 Request $198.64M (FY %) Increases for Physics of the Universe and facilities stewardship (MPS priorities) FY2006 Appropriation - NSF request + ~1% increase for R&RA Rescission of 1.28% - resulting AST budget ~$199.65M (relative to $195.1M in FY2005) ‘recommended’ $51.4M budget for NRAO - $4M over request - must be found within existing program budgets AST FY2006 Budget

Facilities NOAO NSO Gemini 1 NRAO NAIC UROs AST FY2006 Budget $25.0 M $10.0M $18.5 M $47.4 M $10.6 M $8.0 M Request - $119.5MPlan - $122.0M $24.55 M $10.0 M $18.26 M $50.74M $10.46 M $8.0 M 1 Includes $1M Chilean buy-back

Astronomy Research & Instrumentation - Request - $79.1 M - up 4% from FY increase directed primarily toward Physics of the Universe Current Plan - $77.6 M - ‘additional’ funds allocated above request directed toward Physics of the Universe - source of funds for NRAO earmark ATI program new awards curtailed - Includes $4M for LSST and $2M for GSMT TDP - Includes ‘cyberinfrastructure’ funds for NVO start AST FY2006 Budget

FY2007 Request for AST $215.11M (FY % or $15.5M) Facilities base operations budgets held level pending outcome of senior review Increases for: - GSMT ($5M, up $3M) - TSIP ($4M, up $2M) - AODP ($1.5M, restored) - Physics of the Universe activities enhanced - Elementary Particle Physics - dark energy, dark matter studies (with Physics Division) - Research grants programs up overall - Gemini future instrumentation FY2007 Budget Request

MPS by Division

MPS Ten-Year Funding History

Impact of changes at NASA Seeing strong increase in proposal pressure Research grants proposals up 20% in FY2006 (following 15% increase in FY2005) Budget in FY2006 is NOT increasing Increased interaction with NASA colleagues Joint staff meetings Coordinating reviews and funding recommendations FY2006 Budget and AST Grants Programs

AST Grants Programs Trends in AAG program  Has grown significantly in past 5 years  Number of proposals  Budget  Success rate  Typical award size  But proposal pressure is increasing rapidly  Anticipate substantial decreases in success rate

AAG Program Evolution FY

AAG Program Evolution FY

New Faces in AST Dr. Phil Puxley Dr. Phil Puxley  Coming from Gemini South  Permanent program manager for AST facilities Dr. Wei Zheng Dr. Wei Zheng  Program officer in AAG programs  Visiting scientist from Johns Hopkins Dr. Thomas Barnes Dr. Thomas Barnes  Program officer for national facilities and large projects  Visiting appointment from University of Texas

NSF Division of Astronomical Sciences Senior Review Update

AST Budget FY

Total of Decadal Survey recommendations ___________________________________________

“Senior Review”  Process  Established web site for information  Requested community input to  Held regional town meetings –Boston, Minneapolis, Clemson, DC, Boulder, Berkeley, AAS meeting  AST visiting all facilities to meet with staff and management  AST exploring implications of all issues identified. e.g. facility closure, divestiture

“Senior Review” Committee Membership (subcommittee of MPS Advisory Committee) (subcommittee of MPS Advisory Committee) Roger Blandford - Stanford (Chair)  John Huchra - Harvard  Elizabeth Lada - U. Florida  Malcolm Longair - Cambridge  J. Patrick Looney - Brookhaven  Bruce Partridge - Haverford  Vera Rubin - Carnegie/DTM  Tom Ayres - Colorado  Donald Backer - UC Berkeley  John Carlstrom - Chicago  Karl Gebhardt - Texas, Austin  Lynne Hillenbrand - Caltech  Craig Hogan - U. Washington Charge posted on the web

“Senior Review”  First meeting of committee October 2005 Included sessions with facilities managers and directorsIncluded sessions with facilities managers and directors ConsideredConsidered –Observatory submissions –Reports from O/IR and Radio long-range planning groups –Common metrics from all facilities –Community comments Committee began framing criteria for evaluation Committee began framing criteria for evaluation AST provided examples of options for actionAST provided examples of options for action  Committee developed second set of questions for facility managers to address before next meeting

“Senior Review”  Committee met January 2006  Included second session with facilities managers and directors  Next meeting end of February  Requested report by 31 March 2006  But committee to take as much time as needed

“Senior Review”  Next Steps  Report will be submitted to MPS AC for acceptance  AST will formulate an implementation plan Some recommendations may require additional explorationSome recommendations may require additional exploration Bring plan to community (Special session at Calgary AAS, regional town meetings)Bring plan to community (Special session at Calgary AAS, regional town meetings)  CAA will be consulted as AST acts on recommendations  Results will inform FY2008 budget development at the earliest (i.e. change will not be visible immediately).

Stewardship and Science NSF is steward of ground-based astronomy NSF is steward of ground-based astronomy Committee asked to help us in that stewardship Committee asked to help us in that stewardship Fabric of science must be far deeper and richer than Decade priority list Fabric of science must be far deeper and richer than Decade priority list Much of the structure is taken for granted Much of the structure is taken for granted Examine that fabric – be certain pulling a thread doesn’t unravel it all Examine that fabric – be certain pulling a thread doesn’t unravel it all  Scientific capability for the future  Broad community support for the program

The Question “The question for all of us is to judge whether these changes are viable and lead to a vital and sustainable future, or whether the pace and scope of change necessary to realize the cumulative aspirations of the community under severely constrained budgets are too drastic.” “The question for all of us is to judge whether these changes are viable and lead to a vital and sustainable future, or whether the pace and scope of change necessary to realize the cumulative aspirations of the community under severely constrained budgets are too drastic.”

Operating budgets and grant increments to realize the Decadal Survey recommendations ___________________________________________