Management and Operation of the National Radio Astronomy Observatory (NRAO)

国家射电天文台（NRAO）的管理和运营

• 批准号: 1519126
• 负责人: Adam Cohen
• 金额: --
• 依托单位: Associated Universities, Inc.
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Cooperative Agreement
• 财政年份: 2016
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2016-04-01 至 2026-09-30
• 项目状态: 未结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=1519126&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: Management; Operation; National; Radio; Astronomy

To enable a world-wide multi-user community to realize research and education programs of the highest caliber, Associated Universities, Inc. (AUI) presents a strategic vision over the next decade to manage, operate, optimize and disseminate results from the world-leading capabilities of the National Radio Astronomy Observatory (NRAO). With the successful construction of the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA), and the recent enhancement of the Karl G. Jansky Very Large Array (VLA), two new forefront facilities are moving into routine operation with ever-increasing scientific capability. Taken together, these iconic arrays fulfill a major milestone in modern astronomy, encompassing more than an order-of-magnitude leap in observational capabilities for astronomical sources at frequencies between 1 gigahertz and 1 terahertz. As prioritized by multiple National Research Council Decadal Surveys in Astronomy and Astrophysics, NRAO facilities are tools for the entire scientific community that will empower discoveries across all fields of astrophysics. ALMA enables transformational research into the physics of the cold Universe, regions that are optically dark but shine brightly in the millimeter/submillimeter portion of the electromagnetic spectrum. Within the broad range of science accessible with ALMA, the top-level objectives include imaging the redshifted dust continuum and molecular line emission from evolving galaxies as early as a redshift of z~10 (500 million years after the Big Bang), determining the chemical composition and dynamics of star-forming gas in normal galaxies like the Milky Way but at z~3 (75% of the way across the Universe), and measuring the gas kinematics in young disks in nearby star-forming clouds. ALMA has already demonstrated its revolutionary impact with its dramatic images of planet, star and galaxy formation. These results will accelerate as the full array becomes operational, and with the longest baselines ALMA will achieve an angular resolution of tens of milli-arseconds. ALMA provides one to two orders-of-magnitude improvement over previous facilities in all areas of millimeter- and submillimeter-wave observations, including sensitivity, angular resolution and image fidelity. Likewise, at centimeter wavelengths, the broadband VLA has ushered in a new era in radio astronomy, with groundbreaking results published in areas ranging from Galactic proto-stellar clouds to images of the molecular gas in the earliest galaxies. The enhanced VLA is opening new scientific frontiers and explicitly addressing four primary science themes: measuring the strength and topology of cosmic magnetic fields; imaging young stars and massive black holes in dust-enshrouded environments; following the rapid evolution of energetic phenomena; and studying the formation and evolution of stars, galaxies and active galactic nuclei. Improvement over previous performance is up to a factor of 10 in continuum sensitivity and coarsest frequency resolution, and a factor of 1000 or more in finest frequency resolution and the number of frequency channels.In collaboration with NSF's international partners in ALMA, NRAO will transition ALMA from the current phase of commissioning and early science to full science operations. Already the most capable millimeter/submillimeter facility on the planet, in the next few years ALMA will realize significant new capabilities, further increasing ALMA's scientific productivity. The ALMA DevelopmentProgram, a key component in the plan for the coming decade, will solicit and support community input and expertise in upgrading ALMA's capabilities throughout its useful lifetime.Under AUI management, NRAO will implement a staged VLA infrastructure maintenance and development plan to renew and support operation of the VLA beyond the end of the next decade, followed by community-based planning and technical development for the next-generation centimeter-wave facilities. AUI will expand the NRAO Central Development Laboratory (CDL) mission to enhance NSF's existing radio astronomy facilities, to develop technology and expertise needed to build the next generation of radio astronomy instruments, and to benefit the broader economy via technology transfer. In collaboration with the university community, the CDL will support development for both ALMA and VLA and conduct leading-edge, creative research in both core and exploratory technologies that will continue to be vital to the NRAO mission in the coming decade. With plans for enhanced user support services and new data manipulation and visualization tools, AUI envisions expanding the NRAO user base beyond traditional radio astronomers and enabling multi-wavelength science by researchers and students. AUI will also ensure that NSF's investment in NRAO achieves the broadest possible impact in cutting-edge research and technical innovation, training the next generation of researchers, and inspiring students and the public.Building on an existing framework of diversity activities, AUI will conduct ambitious programs to transform the participation of underrepresented groups in science and engineering. An Office of Diversity Initiatives will lead programs, including the National Astronomy Consortium and Physics Inspiring the Next Generation, to empower under-represented students to obtain graduate degrees in STEM fields. The enhanced International/National Exchange Program and Chilean Women Graduate Internships will support international student research in radio astronomy. A key AUI objective for the NRAO workforce in the coming decade will be to move toward achieving parity with the nation's demographics for women and people of color.AUI embraces an integrative approach to education and public outreach (EPO), closely aligned with NRAO research. The EPO plan builds on a comprehensive suite of programs, targeting learners of all ages, broad geographic regions, and traditionally under-represented groups, and incorporates federal STEM education initiatives that identify evidence-based best practices. NRAO will support graduate and undergraduate research, and Jansky postdoctoral fellows will carry out investigations independently, or in collaboration with staff and/or university collaborators, thus building professional relationships between NRAO and academic research groups.As part of AUI's management and oversight of NRAO, AUI will regularly review the technical, financial, and administrative functioning of NRAO as well as AUI's own governance and business practices. Key Performance Indicators and both qualitative and quantitative assessments will inform NRAO activities and AUI policies to achieve optimal management and operation of NRAO.

为了使世界范围内的多用户社区能够实现最高水平的研究和教育计划，联合大学公司（AUI）提出了未来十年的战略愿景，以管理、运营、优化和传播来自国家射电天文台（NRAO）世界领先能力的结果。随着阿塔卡马大型毫米波/亚毫米波阵列（ALMA）的成功建设，以及最近对卡尔·g·杨斯基甚大阵列（VLA）的增强，两个新的前沿设施正在以不断增加的科学能力进入常规操作。总而言之，这些标志性的阵列完成了现代天文学的一个重要里程碑，包括在1千兆赫和1太赫兹之间的天文源的观测能力上的一个数量级的飞跃。作为多个国家研究委员会天文学和天体物理学十年调查的优先事项，NRAO的设施是整个科学界的工具，将使天体物理学各个领域的发现成为可能。ALMA能够对冷宇宙的物理学进行变革性的研究，这些区域在光学上是黑暗的，但在电磁波谱的毫米/亚毫米部分发出明亮的光。在ALMA可获得的广泛科学范围内，顶级目标包括成像红移尘埃连续体和演化星系的分子线发射，早在红移z~10（大爆炸后5亿年），确定像银河系这样的正常星系的化学成分和恒星形成气体的动力学，但在z~3（整个宇宙的75%），并测量附近恒星形成云中年轻盘的气体运动学。ALMA已经通过其行星、恒星和星系形成的戏剧性图像展示了其革命性的影响。随着整个阵列的投入使用，这些结果将会加速，并且在最长基线的情况下，ALMA将实现几十毫秒的角度分辨率。ALMA在毫米波和亚毫米波观测的所有领域提供了一到两个数量级的改进，包括灵敏度、角分辨率和图像保真度。同样，在厘米波长，宽带VLA开创了射电天文学的新时代，在从银河系原恒星云到最早星系分子气体图像等领域发表了突破性的成果。增强型VLA正在开辟新的科学前沿，并明确解决四个主要科学主题：测量宇宙磁场的强度和拓扑结构；在尘埃笼罩的环境中成像年轻恒星和大质量黑洞；伴随能量现象的快速演化的；研究恒星、星系和活动星系核的形成和演化。在连续体灵敏度和最粗频率分辨率方面，比以前的性能提高了10倍，在最细频率分辨率和频率通道数量方面提高了1000倍或更多。NRAO将与NSF在ALMA的国际合作伙伴合作，将ALMA从目前的调试和早期科学阶段过渡到全面的科学操作阶段。ALMA已经是地球上最强大的毫米/亚毫米设施，在未来几年内，ALMA将实现重要的新功能，进一步提高ALMA的科学生产力。ALMA发展计划是未来十年计划的关键组成部分，将征求和支持社区投入和专业知识，以在ALMA的整个使用寿命期内提升其能力。在AUI的管理下，NRAO将实施分阶段的VLA基础设施维护和开发计划，以更新和支持VLA在下一个十年结束后的运行，随后是下一代厘米波设施的社区规划和技术开发。AUI将扩大NRAO中央发展实验室（CDL）的任务，以增强NSF现有的射电天文设施，开发建造下一代射电天文仪器所需的技术和专业知识，并通过技术转让使更广泛的经济受益。在与大学社区的合作下，CDL将支持ALMA和VLA的开发，并在核心和探索性技术方面进行领先的、创造性的研究，这些研究将在未来十年继续对NRAO的任务至关重要。通过增强用户支持服务和新的数据操作和可视化工具的计划，AUI设想将NRAO的用户群扩展到传统的射电天文学家之外，并为研究人员和学生提供多波长科学。AUI还将确保NSF对NRAO的投资在尖端研究和技术创新、培训下一代研究人员以及激励学生和公众方面取得最广泛的影响。在现有的多元化活动框架的基础上，AUI将实施雄心勃勃的计划，以改变未被充分代表的群体在科学和工程领域的参与。多元化倡议办公室将领导包括国家天文学联合会和物理学激励下一代在内的项目，以使代表性不足的学生能够获得STEM领域的研究生学位。加强的国际/国家交流计划和智利女性毕业生实习将支持国际学生在射电天文学方面的研究。未来十年，AUI对NRAO工作人员的一个关键目标将是实现与全国女性和有色人种的人口平等。AUI采用与NRAO研究密切相关的综合教育和公共宣传（EPO）方法。EPO计划以一套全面的计划为基础，针对所有年龄段、广泛地理区域和传统上代表性不足的群体的学习者，并纳入联邦STEM教育计划，以确定循证最佳实践。NRAO将支持研究生和本科生的研究，Jansky博士后将独立进行调查，或与工作人员和/或大学合作者合作，从而在NRAO和学术研究团体之间建立专业关系。作为AUI对NRAO的管理和监督的一部分，AUI将定期审查NRAO的技术、财务和行政功能，以及AUI自己的治理和业务实践。关键绩效指标和定性和定量评估将为NRAO的活动和AUI政策提供信息，以实现NRAO的最佳管理和运作。