Introduction
The AAO Users' Committee came into being on 1 January 2000, combining and extending the functions of the Advisory Committee for Instrumentation on the AAT (ACIAAT) and the policy role of the Schmidt Telescope Panel (STP). The terms of reference are listed below. The committee comprises six external users, three from Australia, two from the UK and an international representative. Members of the AAOUC will be nominated by the Director and approved by the Board. The current membership is:
| Member |
Nationality |
End of term |
| Andrew Hopkins (Chair) |
Australia |
Jul
2008 |
| Ian
Howarth |
UK |
Feb
2009 |
| Hugh
Jones |
UK |
Feb
2010 |
| Tom Jarrett |
International |
Jul
2010 |
| Michael Brown |
Australia |
Apr
2011 |
| Brad Carter |
Australia |
July
2011 |
Next Meeting
The AAO users' committee meets once a year at Epping. The next full meeting of this committee is scheduled for 17-18 July 2008. However, the Director will consult with the AAOUC throughout the year on matters requiring timely input. To solicit the community's views, the AAOUC Chair will post appropriate material on this WWW page.The AAOUC seeks the comments of the AAO user community on the following issues. Please send your comments to the AAOUC Chair.
- No issues pending at present.
AAOUC Terms of Reference
- To provide advice to the Director on operational and developmental issues relating to the facilities provided by the Anglo-Australian Observatory. These include the Anglo-Australian Telescope, the Schmidt Telescope and all aspects of support provided by the AAO.
- To make recommendations to the Director which seek to maximise the scientific productivity and maintain the international competitiveness of the Observatory, taking into account the likely resource availability.
- To consult widely with the community, liaising where necessary with the national time assignment groups, to establish priorities for both operational and instrumentation initiatives.
- To interface with the instrument design review panels, commenting on any issues arising from these panels that impact on the delivery of key user science requirements.
- To provide a written report through the Director for submission to each September meeting of the AAT Board.
Current Documentation
Agenda for the July 2008 MeetingMinutes from the February 2008 telecon
Item 2.1 Director's Report
Item 2.2 Head of Astronomy Report
Item 2.4 Head of Instrumentation Report
Item 3.1 AAT Operations Report
Item 3.2 RAVE Progress Report
Item 3.4 Adaptive Optics at Siding Spring
AAT Seeing Report
Organisation chart
AAOUC Older Documents
Documentation for the February 2008 TeleconferenceDocumentation for the July 2007 Meeting
Notes from the February 2007 tele-conference
Files for the February 2007 tele-conference.
Files for the July 2006 meeting
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