ATUC Meeting
Triennium Funding

at the ATNF in Epping, Sydney

- March 23, 1999 -

Triennium Funding - Science Cases

• 2 GHz bandwidth upgrade to the ATCA ($2.7M plus 12 man-years)

• Real time fibre link between Mopra and the ATCA ($1M plus $50k/year)

• ATCA operators ($250k/year)

• Full 7mm system ($1.1M plus 12 man-years)

Previous comments from ATUC on Triennium Funding (see ATUC Report, Nov. 98, point 1)

1. Triennium Funding: For an increase of 20 percent in funding ATUC
   • strongly supports and ranks most highly, an increase in the number postdoctoral positions,
   • strongly endorses an increase in resources for outreach programs,
   • strongly endorses increased R&D for the SKA,
   • strongly approves R&D and implementation of a process for RFI mitigation,
   • approves the building of the prototype element of the SKA,
   • considers the correlator upgrade less important,
   • less strongly endorses the movement of the 6-km antenna into the 3-km array,
   • has medium support for developing Mopra as a National Facility.

   For a decrease of 20 percent in funding ATUC feels that all methods of budget saving should be pursued which avoid cuts to the core scientific capabilities that the ATNF supplies to its User Community or significant staff reductions. (Particularly given the large MNRF funding boost that has been made to improve ATNF facilities.) We therefore can support only the following three options:
   i) operate Visitor Centres and Lodges as a franchise,
   ii) lease the telescopes for external use (Mopra to be considered separately as it is undersubscribed),
   iii) engineering group to take on external contracts.
   

   ATUC considers any Major Facilities reduction detrimental to international collaborations.