AAO Advisory Committee

The AAO Advisory Committee is mandated by the Australian Astronomical Observatory Act 2010 and advises the Secretary and Director about the performance of the astronomical functions of the AAO. The members of the Committee are appointed by the Secretary of DIISR on the recommendation of the Department after consultation with key stakeholders in the astronomy community. The AAOAC will normally meet twice a year. The role and membership of the committee are given below; full and definitive details are contained in the AAOAC Terms of Reference.

Role

The role of the AAOAC will be:

monitoring and providing advice to the Secretary and the Director on the quality and status of the AAO research facilities and supporting infrastructure and delivery of services to the astronomy community, including identification of emerging issues.
providing strategic advice to the Secretary and the Director on the overall scientific direction of the AAO, including identification of emerging scientific opportunities and appropriate future research roles for the AAO, in the national and international context.
in consultation with the Director, developing and reviewing periodically a set of performance indicators for the AAO, to be approved by the Secretary. These indicators should encompass, but not be limited to, the areas of telescope operations, research, instrumentation, the use of AAO resources and external communications.
in consultation with the Director, developing and reviewing periodically an AAO Client Service Charter, to be approved by the Secretary.
where requested by the Secretary, providing advice to the Secretary and the Director on the prioritisation and use of available AAO funding and resources in the maintenance and upgrading of AAO facilities, the performance of AAO research functions and collaborations, or the provision of improved services to AAO users.
providing advice to the Director on Terms of Reference and appointments to the Australian Time Assignment Committee, AAO Users’ Committee and any other sub-committees the Director may wish to establish.
maintaining a high level of engagement with the Australian astronomy community and reflecting the community’s views in providing its advice to the Secretary on all of the above matters.

Membership

The committee comprises seven members: three senior Australian astronomers representing the community of users of the AAO; one senior international astronomer; one senior scientist from a related field with significant experience in research leadership, facility management or research administration; one industry or private sector representative with a broad experience in governance, service delivery and management of complex organisations; and one person with relevant management experience at senior executive levels of government or government agencies.

The current membership of the AAOAC is listed below:

Category	Member	Nationality	Institution	Start of term	End of term
Senior Australian Astronomer	Prof Warrick Couch FAA (Chair)	Australia	Swinburne	1 March 2011	31 December 2014
Senior Australian Astronomer	Prof Brian Schmidt FAA	Australia	ANU	1 March 2011	31 December 2013
Senior Australian Astronomer	Prof Peter Quinn	Australia	ICRAR/UWA	1 January 2013	31 December 2015
Senior International Astronomer	Prof Roger Davies	International	Oxford	1 March 2011	31 December 2013
Senior scientist in a related field	Prof Robyn Owens	Australia	UWA	1 March 2011	31 December 2014
Industry or private sector representative	Dr Rosalind Dubs	Australia	Space Industry Innovation Council	1 March 2011	31 December 2013
Person with senior government experience	Dr David Charles	Australia	Insight Economics	1 March 2011	31 December 2013