2002 NSF-AST Visiting Committee Report

The AAS recently requested and received a copy of the recently completed 2002 Committee of Visitors to the Divison of Astronomical Sciences at the National Science Foundation and is pleased to make a copy of this report available here (PDF format).

An AAS View of the Visiting Committee Report

The Committee of Visitors is not only an essential part of the governance of the Division of Astronomical Sciences, but also a valuable means of communication between the Division and the community it serves. Through an in-depth look at proposal actions, planning processes and the scientific results that they enable, the astronomical community can come to understand the reasoning, challenges and opportunities of the Division more fully.

Through the concentrated interaction with the Visiting Committee, the Division comes to a better understanding of the concerns, ambitions and impressions held by the people depending on the National Science Foundation to support their research. The end result is, we hope, mutual understanding, support, and a stronger program for U.S. astronomy.

Report Recommendations

This report presents some recommendations, which we present below .as they appeared in the report.

• Our first and most urgent recommendation is to increase the staff in the AST Division.
• The COV recommends that the AST Division develop an implementation plan with funding requirements to the end of the decade to support the various initiatives that have been identified and prioritized by the community in the NRC Decadal Survey. The Division needs to actively engage the community on a continuing basis in the planning effort.
• The COV recommends that the AST Division explore new ways to enhance the AST community's response to the 'broader impact criterion' in the review process by emphasizing its importance, clarifying its meaning and usefulness, and illustrating its application. Review panels should also be encouraged to pay closer attention to this criterion and to give credit to investigators who fulfill it well.
• The COV recommends that a vital instrumentation program be maintained for the 4-m class telescopes to which the national community has access.
• The COV recommends that the AST Division should help clarify the information disseminated to the astronomical community about various NSF-wide opportunities such as MRI, RUI and other similar programs, by providing simplified descriptions of goals and requirements for these programs. The Division should also encourage additional proposals for these programs from the community.

Comments, questions and complaints to: mailto:marvel@aas.org