Leading CanariCam Science Team Mid-IR Astronomy at the 10.4-m GTC

位于加那利群岛的直径10.4米的Gran Telescope io Canarias(GTC)是世界上最大的光学红外望远镜。该奖项的PI领导团队建造了GTC的“CanariCam”，这是一种独特的相机，可以拍摄来自星系、恒星形成区、年轻行星系统、超新星和其他天体物理前沿现象的热辐射。为了最大限度地提高望远镜时间的科学生产力，以换取CanariCam的开发，并建立强大的国际科学合作，CanariCam科学团队(CCST)成立，为包括研究生和博士后在内的美国天文学家提供使用这台巨大望远镜的机会，否则他们将不被允许使用它。这一NSF奖项支持这个国际团队的基本活动，特别是科学规划、观察、分析和成果传播。该计划还向许多美国天文学家介绍了他们以前不太可能有太多经验的观测技术，它为研究生和博士后提供了一个在国际环境中接受培训的无与伦比的机会，同时让他们接触到先进的天文技术和世界上最大的望远镜。这个NSF奖项提供关键的持续支持，以确保CanariCam科学团队(CCST)的成功。由个别科学家在CCST上提出的一套高度多样化的科学计划由PI塑造成一个连贯的超级计划，将在几个观测学期和任何特定的夜晚执行。特别是对于更复杂的项目，PI与CCST成员面对面地会面，并前往望远镜进行一些观测运行，以确保GTC工作人员顺利而高效地进行所有CCST观测。CanariCam的数据简化在可公开获得的IRAF例程中得到了正式支持，但该奖项还支持在社区范围内传播CCST成员为自己的目的开发的高质量的、主要是IDL的简化和分析例程。最后，由该奖项支持的年度团队会议在吸引和培训学生和博士后方面发挥着关键作用，因为它们是科学上的紧张和实践经验，在其中真正的科学正在被计划、讨论和辩论。

Located in the Canary Islands, the 10.4-meter diameter Gran Telescopio Canarias (GTC) is the largest optical-infrared telescope in the world. The PI of this award led the team that built the GTC's "CanariCam", a unique camera that images heat radiation from galaxies, star-forming regions, young planetary systems, supernovae, and other phenomena at the frontiers of astrophysics. To maximize the science productivity of telescope time provided in return for CanariCam development and to forge a strong international science collaboration, the CanariCam Science Team (CCST) was formed to provide access to this enormous telescope to US astronomers, including graduate students and post-docs, who would not otherwise be permitted to use it. This NSF award supports essential activities of this international team, particularly science planning, observing, analysis, and dissemination of results. This program also introduces many US astronomers to observational techniques with which they are unlikely to have had much previous experience, and it provides graduate students and post-docs an unparalleled opportunity to receive training in an international environment while exposing them to advanced astronomical techniques and research at the world's largest telescope.This NSF award provides critical on-going support to assure the success of the CanariCam Science Team (CCST). A highly diverse set of science programs proposed by individual scientists on the CCST are shaped by the PI into a coherent super-program to be carried out across several observing semesters and on any particular night. Especially for more complex programs, the PI meets face-to-face with CCST members and travels to the telescope for some observing runs to ensure that all CCST observations are carried out smoothly and efficiently by GTC staff. Data reduction for CanariCam is supported formally in publicly available IRAF routines, but this award also supports community-wide dissemination of high-quality, mostly IDL, reduction and analysis routines developed by CCST members for their own purposes. Finally, annual team meetings supported by this award play a critical role in engaging and training students and postdocs, since they are scientifically intense and hands-on experiences in which real science is being planned, discussed, and debated.