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

位于加那利群岛，直径10.4米的加那利望远镜（GTC）是世界上最大的光学红外望远镜。该奖项的PI领导的团队建造了GTC的“CanariCam”，这是一种独特的相机，可以拍摄来自星系，恒星形成区域，年轻行星系统，超新星和其他天体物理学前沿现象的热辐射。为了最大限度地提高望远镜时间的科学生产力，以回报CanariCam的发展，并建立强大的国际科学合作，CanariCam科学团队（CCST）成立，向美国天文学家提供使用这台巨大的望远镜的机会，包括研究生和博士后，否则他们将不被允许使用它。这个NSF奖支持这个国际团队的基本活动，特别是科学规划、观察、分析和结果传播。该项目还向许多美国天文学家介绍了他们以前不太可能有过的观测技术，并为研究生和博士后提供了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，并在世界上最大的望远镜上进行研究。这项NSF奖励为确保CanariCam科学团队（CCST）的成功提供了关键的持续支持。由个别科学家在CCST上提出的高度多样化的科学计划由PI形成一个连贯的超级计划，该计划将在几个观测学期和任何特定的夜晚进行。特别是对于更复杂的项目，PI与CCST成员面对面会面，并前往望远镜进行一些观测运行，以确保GTC工作人员顺利高效地进行所有CCST观测。CanariCam的数据约简在公开可用的IRAF例程中得到正式支持，但该奖项也支持在社区范围内传播由CCST成员为自己的目的开发的高质量（主要是IDL）约简和分析例程。最后，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了关键作用，因为它们是科学密集的实践经验，真正的科学正在被规划、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.