The Australia Telescope Time Assignment Committee (TAC) is advisory to the ATNF Director. The TAC members are appointed by the ATNF Steering Committee.
The TAC assesses proposals submitted for observing time with the Australia Telescope Compact Array (ATCA), Murriyang; the Parkes radio telescope, the Long Baseline Array (LBA) and the Australian SKA Pathfinder (ASKAP). Service proposals for the Tidbinbilla 70-m antenna are also assessed. The ATNF TAC follows a dual-anonymous peer review process. Time is allocated on the basis of scientific merit, subject to any scheduling constraints.
The TAC members meet twice a year to consider telescope applications for two six-month semesters that begin in October and March. The TAC normally has 11 voting members, including the Chair. In additional, a group of approximately 12 – 14 external readers review the proposals and send input to the TAC. ATNF TAC Members and Readers serve for a period of three years.
Information and Queries
After the TAC grades and comments are finalised, an email is sent to all proposers for that semester (that have valid email addresses in OPAL) informing them that the grade and comments can be viewed in OPAL. A second email is sent to all proposers once the telescope schedules are released.
For queries on the TAC grades or comments contact the TAC Chair or TAC Executive Officer. For assistance with scheduling related matters, contact the Senior System Scientist for the relevant facility.
The telescope schedules are prepared after the TAC meetings by the schedulers. For assistance with scheduling related matters, contact the Senior System Scientist for the relevant facility.
For some time assignment performance indicators, see the ATNF Annual Reports.
Current TAC Members
| Name | Term | Affiliation |
|---|---|---|
| Voting Members | ||
| Arash Bahramian | July 2023 – Feb 2026 | ICRAR / Curtin University |
| Nichole Barry | July 2023 – Feb 2026 | University of New South Wales |
| Shi Dai | July 2022 – Feb 2025 | CSIRO Space & Astronomy |
| Kelly Gourdji | Feb 2023 – July 2025 | Swinburne University of Technology |
| Kathryn Grasha, Chair | Feb 2023 – July 2025 | Research School of Astronomy & Astrophysics, ANU |
| Anita Hafner | Feb 2025 – July 2027 | University of Sydney |
| Lucas Hyland | July 2024 – Feb 2027 | University of Tasmania |
| Danny Price | Feb 2025 – July 2027 | SKA Observatory |
| Artem Tuntsov | July 2023 – Feb 2026 | Manly Astrophysics, Australia |
| Cameron Van Eck | Feb 2024 – July 2026 | Research School of Astronomy & Astrophysics, ANU |
| Hyein Yoon | July 2023 – Feb 2026 | University of Sydney |
| Ex-Officio Members | ||
| George Hobbs, ATNF Program Director | CSIRO Space and Astronomy | |
| Elizabeth Mahony, TAC Executive Officer | CSIRO Space and Astronomy | |
| Jane Kaczmarek, Parkes Senior Systems Scientist | CSIRO Space and Astronomy | |
| Jamie Stevens, ATCA Senior Systems Scientist | CSIRO Space and Astronomy | |
| Administration Support | ||
| Amanda Gray | CSIRO Space and Astronomy | |
Policies and Procedures
- ATNF TAC procedures
- Target of Opportunity (ToO) and Non A-priori Assignable (NAPA) proposals.
- ATNF Large Projects (Projects that require at least 400 hours of telescope time over the lifetime of the project)
- ATNF data policies
- Director’s Time
- Replacing Lost Time