AGENDA FOR THE ATUC MEETING ON TUESDAY, MARCH 23, 1999.

MEETING TO BE HELD AT THE ATNF IN EPPING, SYDNEY

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Open Session (9:00 – 12:00)

• Welcome & Introduction (Anne Green, 5min.)
• Director’s Report (John Brooks, 20min.)
• Observatory reports
  • ATCA/Mopra (Ravi Subrahmanyan, 20min.)
  • Parkes/VLBI (John Reynolds, 20min.)
• Publication Analysis (Jessica Chapman, 5min.)
• RFI Mitigation update (Peter Hall, 5min.)
• The Future of AIPS (Neil Killeen, 5min.)
• Parkes spectral ripple (Lister Staveley-Smith, 5min.)
  
  Coffee break
• Triennium Funding – Science Cases
  • 2 GHz bandwidth upgrade to the ATCA (Bärbel Koribalski, 5min.)
  • Real time fibre link between Mopra and the ATCA (Dave Jauncey, 5min.)
  • ATCA operators (Ravi Subrahmanyan, 5min.)
  • Full 7mm system (Ravi Subrahmanyan, 5min.)

Closed Session (13:00 – 17:00)

ATUC Business Meeting – Preliminary Items

• Apologies
• Additional Agenda Items

Matters arising from the Director’s response to the previous ATUC Report

• …

Business matters:

Issues concerning Triennium funding:

1. Triennium funding (2000-2003). ATUC has been asked to assign priorities for a few additional projects (which were not discussed in the previous meeting) as a guide to the Steering Committee, which is to make recommendations for the next funding cycle for CSIRO. The science cases have been presented in the open session.
   • 2GHz bandwidth upgrade to the ATCA
     (was considered less important by ATUC in prioritising the triennium funding options during the last meeting)
   • Real time fibre link between Mopra and ATCA
   • ATCA operators
   • Full 7mm system
2. Triennium funding (1997-2000). ATUC has been asked to comment on the “Objectives and Key Potential Outcomes 1997-2000 — National Facility Operation” from the last triennium plan:
   
   • Operate, and provide access to, the observatories, the VLBI facility, and data reduction facilities, to the satisfaction of the community of scientific users.
   • Schedule at least 50% of time on the Parkes and Narrabri telescopes for astronomical observations, and ensure that time lost during scheduled observing periods as a result of instrumentation failures will be less than 5%.
   • Develop operational support for space VLBI missions and geodesy observations.
   • Provide the appropriate tools and information to ATNF users to enable them to extract the most science from their research.
   • Make the public aware of the sector through successful operation of the Parkes and Narrabri visitor’s centres.
3. How responsive is ATNF to suggestions by ATUC ? (question from the AT Steering Committee) What are the key performance indicators to be noted ?
   
   Issues concerning ATCA & Mopra:
4. What is the value and potential of real time data processing ? (possible demonstration)
5. Is there a scientific advantage if the new EW stations (352, 367) are both offered in one observing term ?
6. Would it be useful for the Narrabri DA to carry a beeper ?
   
   
   Issues concerning Parkes:
7. Parkes spectral ripple: can ATUC comment on the proposed modifications ?
8. How broad is the interest in the Bonn Polarimeter ?
   
   Issues concerning VLBI:
9. What are the implications of establishing a VLBI Centre in Hobart ?
   (SRC proposal has been submitted this year)
   
   
   General issues:
10. ATUC has been asked to comment on the publication analysis, especially on the difference in publication output between Australian and non-Australian users.
11. What is the time scale for withdrawing AIPS support ?
12. Should the Epping visitor lodge be improved ? Specifically, should shared rooms be discontinued ?
13. Next meeting – two days in November, 1999
14. Suggestions to the Steering Committee for future members of ATUC.
15. Other business?
16. Report to the Director.