Dear Colleagues,
Below is an announcement of the organization of the LSST Science Collaborations, and a solicitation for proposals to join them. This announcement has gone out via multiple channels, and I very much hope you will have seen it before. If not, that is my fault, and I apologize for my lack of attention. You will see that there is a nominal September 1 deadline to apply. Please do not let this discourage you from responding! There have been many breakdowns in communication similar to mine throughout the collaboration, and Michael is very aware of them. I am confident that your application will not suffer because of that, but if you are going to respond please do so in the next two weeks.
With best regards,
Tim
--------------------------------
To whom it may concern,
This letter is to invite you to apply for membership in one of
the newly-formed Science Collaborations of the LSST. As you probably
know, the Large Synoptic Survey Telescope (LSST) currently plans
comissioning in 2013, and will survey 20,000 deg2 in ugrizY, going to
27th magnitude in r band. While the broad science drivers for the
project (ranging from the search for near-Earth asteroids to the
characterization of dark energy from large-scale structure, weak
lensing, and supernovae) have been widely discussed (see, e.g.,
http://www.lsst.org/Science/community_input.shtml and
http://www.lsst.org/Science/science_goals.shtml), it is time for a
more formal and detailed investigation of the science questions which
LSST will address by the LSST consortium and the broader astronomy and
physics community, with several things in mind:
-To help further flesh out the science case for the LSST, which
is important for the preparation of construction funding proposals
to the NSF, DOE and elsewhere;
-There are any number of aspects of the LSST design (such as the
planned cadence, and software and database design) that require
input from scientists who plan to use the data;
-As the data start to flow, the best way to test it thoroughly and
look for systematic effects is to do science. That is, a crucial
part of the commissioning of the telescope will be doing science
with the early data, and finding problems that can be addressed.
-The ultimate goal of the LSST project is to do science, and the
big projects that LSST will enable will take a substantial amount
of preparation, starting now, so as to be able to take full
advantage of the data once it starts flowing.
It is in this context that the LSST Board and LSST Director have decided to
define a series of Science Collaborations. The initial list of these
collaborations is appended to this letter. As a scientist at an LSST
member institution, we would like to invite you to apply now to be
included in a science collaboration (applications from the broader
science community will be solicited after the initial membership from
the LSST institutions is set).
These Science Collaborations will work closely with the LSST Project
as it builds the telescope, camera, and software, and will be expected
to play a substantial role in the scientific commissioning of the
project. The chairs of each Science Collaboration will comprise the
LSST Science Advisory Committee, which I will chair, and which will
report to the LSST Project Scientist (Zeljko Ivezic of the University
of Washington) and the Director (Tony Tyson of UC Davis).
The real payoff for the Collaborations, of course, is to be in an
optimal position to use the LSST data as it begins to flow. Moreover,
the Collaborations will be able to influence the LSST in decisions on
cadence and software as described above. Members of the Science
Collaborations will of course be welcome to attend relevant LSST
technical meetings.
It should be emphasized that because the LSST data taken during the
operations phase will be made public immediately, there is no
requirement that an individual be a member of a Science Collaboration
in order to use these data. However, the science collaborations will
in practice be closer to the instrument, software, and data-taking,
and therefore will better understand its characteristics, than will
those from the general community starting to work with the data after
first light. In addition, Science Collaboration members will have
access to commissioning data.
While the LSST doesn't explicitly fund the science operations (in
the sense that scientific results and papers are not part of the
formal deliverables of the LSST), there will be limited funds to
support phone conferences and meetings of the Science Collaborations,
as well as additional funding for science commissioning activities.
If this interests you, please prepare a description of your expected
contribution to the science collaboration of your choice and/or your
contributions past, present or future to LSST infrastructure; a page
or two should be adequate. Send this to me directly by e-mail by
September 1 (although later requests will also be considered).
Membership in a Science Collaboration represents a serious commitment
of time and energy. Thus if you are applying for membership in more
than one Collaboration, you should justify your time commitment to
each.
Finally, the collaborations listed do not attempt to cover all
possible science to be done with LSST; if you would be interested in
defining another science collaboration, please let me know, and we can
discuss it.
Michael Strauss
Chair, LSST Science Advisory Committee
[EMAIL PROTECTED]
609-258-3808
The currently planned Science Collaborations, and their intial chairs, are as
follows:
Supernovae: Michael Wood-Vasey (Center for Astrophysics)
Weak lensing: David Wittman (UC Davis) and Bhuvnesh Jain
(Pennsylvania), co-chairs
Stellar Populations: Abi Saha (NOAO)
Active Galactic Nuclei: Niel Brandt (Penn State)
Solar System: Steve Chesley (JPL)
Galaxies: Harry Ferguson (STScI)
Transients/variable stars: Shri Kulkarni (Caltech)
Large-scale structure/baryon oscillations: Andrew Hamilton (Colorado)
Milky Way structure: Connie Rockosi (UC Santa Cruz)
--- Begin Message ---
The LSST has defined a series of Science Collaborations, to be
comprised of scientists from LSST member institutions and from the
broader astronomy and physics communities. The initial list of these
Collaborations is given below, together with their initial chairs. As
a representative of an LSST member institution, or the head of an LSST
subsystem, we would like your help to distribute the letter below to
scientists at your institution or working on LSST infrastructure,
soliciting applications for membership in a Science Collaboration. If
there is a scientist at your institution who would be a more
appropriate contact for this sort of communication than yourself,
please let me know. Please let me know if you have any questions or
concerns.
Michael Strauss
Chair, Science Advisory Committee
[EMAIL PROTECTED]
609-258-3808
To whom it may concern,
This letter is to invite you to apply for membership in one of
the newly-formed Science Collaborations of the LSST. As you probably
know, the Large Synoptic Survey Telescope (LSST) currently plans
comissioning in 2013, and will survey 20,000 deg^2 in ugrizY, going to
27th magnitude in r band. While the broad science drivers for the
project (ranging from the search for near-Earth asteroids to the
characterization of dark energy from large-scale structure, weak
lensing, and supernovae) have been widely discussed (see, e.g.,
http://www.lsst.org/Science/community_input.shtml and
http://www.lsst.org/Science/science_goals.shtml), it is time for a
more formal and detailed investigation of the science questions which
LSST will address by the LSST consortium and the broader astronomy and
physics community, with several things in mind:
-To help further flesh out the science case for the LSST, which
is important for the preparation of construction funding proposals
to the NSF, DOE and elsewhere;
-There are any number of aspects of the LSST design (such as the
planned cadence, and software and database design) that require
input from scientists who plan to use the data;
-As the data start to flow, the best way to test it thoroughly and
look for systematic effects is to do science. That is, a crucial
part of the commissioning of the telescope will be doing science
with the early data, and finding problems that can be addressed.
-The ultimate goal of the LSST project is to do science, and the
big projects that LSST will enable will take a substantial amount
of preparation, starting now, so as to be able to take full
advantage of the data once it starts flowing.
It is in this context that the LSST Board and LSST Director have decided to
define a series of Science Collaborations. The initial list of these
collaborations is appended to this letter. As a scientist at an LSST
member institution, we would like to invite you to apply now to be
included in a science collaboration (applications from the broader
science community will be solicited after the initial membership from
the LSST institutions is set).
These Science Collaborations will work closely with the LSST Project
as it builds the telescope, camera, and software, and will be expected
to play a substantial role in the scientific commissioning of the
project. The chairs of each Science Collaboration will comprise the
LSST Science Advisory Committee, which I will chair, and which will
report to the LSST Project Scientist (Zeljko Ivezic of the University
of Washington) and the Director (Tony Tyson of UC Davis).
The real payoff for the Collaborations, of course, is to be in an
optimal position to use the LSST data as it begins to flow. Moreover,
the Collaborations will be able to influence the LSST in decisions on
cadence and software as described above. Members of the Science
Collaborations will of course be welcome to attend relevant LSST
technical meetings.
It should be emphasized that because the LSST data taken during the
operations phase will be made public immediately, there is no
requirement that an individual be a member of a Science Collaboration
in order to use these data. However, the science collaborations will
in practice be closer to the instrument, software, and data-taking,
and therefore will better understand its characteristics, than will
those from the general community starting to work with the data after
first light. In addition, Science Collaboration members will have
access to commissioning data.
While the LSST doesn't explicitly fund the science operations (in
the sense that scientific results and papers are not part of the
formal deliverables of the LSST), there will be limited funds to
support phone conferences and meetings of the Science Collaborations,
as well as additional funding for science commissioning activities.
If this interests you, please prepare a description of your expected
contribution to the science collaboration of your choice and/or your
contributions past, present or future to LSST infrastructure; a page
or two should be adequate. Send this to me directly by e-mail by
September 1 (although later requests will also be considered).
Membership in a Science Collaboration represents a serious commitment
of time and energy. Thus if you are applying for membership in more
than one Collaboration, you should justify your time commitment to
each.
Finally, the collaborations listed do not attempt to cover all
possible science to be done with LSST; if you would be interested in
defining another science collaboration, please let me know, and we can
discuss it.
Michael Strauss
Chair, LSST Science Advisory Committee
[EMAIL PROTECTED]
609-258-3808
The currently planned Science Collaborations, and their intial chairs, are as
follows:
Supernovae: Michael Wood-Vasey (Center for Astrophysics)
Weak lensing: David Wittman (UC Davis) and Bhuvnesh Jain
(Pennsylvania), co-chairs
Stellar Populations: Abi Saha (NOAO)
Active Galactic Nuclei: Niel Brandt (Penn State)
Solar System: Steve Chesley (JPL)
Galaxies: Harry Ferguson (STScI)
Transients/variable stars: Shri Kulkarni (Caltech)
Large-scale structure/baryon oscillations: Andrew Hamilton (Colorado)
Milky Way structure: Connie Rockosi (UC Santa Cruz)
--- End Message ---
begin:vcard
fn:Tim Axelrod
n:Axelrod;Tim
org:;Large Synoptic Survey Telescope
email;internet:[EMAIL PROTECTED]
title:Data Management Project Scientist
tel;work:520-322-8735
version:2.1
end:vcard
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