Successful Completion of the 2020A Semester ITAC Process and Announcement of 2020A Programs

For the first time in the history of Gemini, the 2020A semester was filled and all negotiations with every Partner completed without convening a meeting of the ITAC members. Marie Lemoine-Busserolle (ITAC Chair) and Jennifer Miller (ITAC Technical Secretary) worked remotely with the Partners to converge on the 2020A Gemini North and South program lists, negating the need for the scheduled December 5 ITAC meeting. This outcome is the result of a combination of Marie and Jennifer's work on simplifying the process and reducing human errors, and Marie’s negotiations with the representatives. Sandy Leggett, Jared Eckersley, Carlos Quiroz and Chris Stark supported Marie and Jennifer throughout, and we're grateful to the Partner ITAC representatives for their collaboration in the process. We continue to improve on the time allocation process and hope to set an example for future large, international observatories to follow. Here's to next time!