Strong Response to System Roadmap Survey

More than 1100 members of the astronomical community responded to the System Roadmap Survey by the 2 December deadline. As described in the last issue of Currents, the survey, carried out on-line by the US Ground-based OIR System Roadmap Committee, was designed to gather input on both how the community uses current facilities as well as how these facilities will be used to carry out the science described in the Astro2010 Decadal Survey report (“New Worlds New Horizons”). The System Roadmap committee, a standing committee formed by NOAO, is charged with assessing the state of the ground-based OIR system of observing facilities (i.e., both federal and non-federal facilities).

The survey captured the views of astronomers at different stages of their careers (graduate students, postdocs, faculty and staff) as well as those with and without institutional access to observing facilities. The vast majority of the respondents (>80%) were US-based. Nearly all respondents are intent on pursuing Astro2010-related science in the coming decade. The survey solicited input on the capabilities that would be needed to carry out these programs.

The survey results showed several clear trends:

• The need for a “system” of resources in order to carry out Astro2010 science. A large fraction of the science programs described in the survey require multiple capabilities, e.g., imaging and spectroscopy on facilities of different apertures.
• Open access resources are highly valued throughout community, i.e., by both communities with and without institutional access to observing resources. More than 80% of respondents identified NSF-supported facilities accessed through the NOAO time allocation process as being critical or important to their research.
• Non-federal facilities are also highly valued throughout the community.
• The ground-based OIR community is poised to go to work on Astro2010 science in this decade using existing facilities.

The System Roadmap Committee is now analyzing the survey results in detail. The survey data will be used in identifying the capabilities that are in high demand by the community or are currently missing from the System. The committee will also develop recommendations aimed at helping the community and the funding agencies that support us maximize the scientific return from the US ground-based OIR system. Committee findings and recommendations will be presented in a white paper on the status of the US ground-based OIR System that will be forwarded to the NSF/AST Portfolio Review Committee.