1. Astronomy & Astrophysics in Antarctic 2012 AAAC 11 May 2012 Scott Borg Division of Antarctic Sciences Office of Polar Programs National Science Foundation

2. IceCube ANT and PHY partnership, with international partners Observatory Complete, M&O and Science are underway Detector functioning better than anticipated GRB's are not the neutrino engines of existing models Support thru FY14 - major review in a year South Pole Telescope Initial 5 year SZE survey completed - many discoveries CMB constraints on re-ionization Exciting discoveries of structure of the early Universe Support thru FY13 - proposal for new work expected BiCEP, BiCEP2 and SPUD Significant constraint on Inflation First meaningful constraint on inflationary gravitational wave background from B-mode polarization Current support thru FY13, renewal proposal in review

3. HEAT at Ridge A TeraHertz, robotic telescope at the Dome A summit Site is 200-km south of Chinese station Kunlun Successful testing; now into THz winter observations US and Australia Support thru FY14 Antarctic Long Duration Ballooning NASA-NSF partnership since 1990; 47 flights Pioneering astrophysics and space physics payloads Agreement thru FY14 (2 more seasons) Anticipate continued interest from NASA

4. NRC Review of the USAP OMB requested a high level review Plan developed and implemented by OSTP and NSF Part 1: NAS/NRC Review of Science Drivers. Report issued December 2011. Part 2: Blue Ribbon Panel examining infrastructure: Is USAP structured appropriately to address the science drivers anticipated in the NRC report. Report anticipated July 2012. Includes consideration of international and interagency partnerships.

5. Challenges Many opportunities - too many? Stagnant budgets and increasing costs. Better integration/partnerships and priority setting with other national investments in astronomy? SPT after current project - what next? - Transition to multi-user telescope? IceCube M&O recompetition in FY15 – what next?

6. Questions? Aurora behind the 10m South Pole Telescope Photo Credit: Dana Hrubes, SP Station Science Leader, 2010

7. Questions?