The View from NSF

Very Wide Field Surveysin the Light of Astro2010

Space Telescope Science InstituteJune 13 2011Nigel Sharp

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MPS FY 2012 Budget Request Highlights

MPS Budget Request Reflects NSF Priorities

Support innovation in healthy core programs Invest in research addressing national priorities

– OneNSF Activities: SEES, CIF21 Advance a strong scientific and technical workforce

– CAREER, postdocs, GRF, REU Support multidisciplinary research

– Centers, institutes, and networks

Invest in facilities critical for fundamental research– New Era of Observation; ties into CIF21

MPS Request: $1.43B +$80.89M (+ 6.0% )

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Realitiesof FY 2011 and 2012 Budgets

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NSF R&RA %/FY10 AST %/FY10

FY10 Omnibus $5.62B 0.0% $245.7M 0.0%

FY11 Request $6.02B (+8.0%) $251.8M (+2.5%)

FY11 Approp. $5.56B -0.9% ??? -xx%

FY12 Request $6.25B (+12.4%) $249.1M (+1.4%)

FY12 Approp. ??? ??? ??? ???

Percentages for the FY11 Request are quoted relative to initial FY10 estimates, while percentages for the FY12 Request are quoted relative to FY10 enacted/FY11 CR estimates. FY11 appropriation number includes a 0.2% rescission.

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Sample BudgetSuggestions for Astro2010

1: FY11=0.95*FY10, then 2.5%/yr

2: FY11&12=request, then flat

3: FY11&12=request, then 2.5%/yr

4: FY11&12=request, then 4.5%/yr

5: FY11&12=request, then 6.5%/yr

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Astro2010 Ramp + Budget Scenarios

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Current Astro2010 Plans

Continuing LSST D&D funding, with efforts to move toward PDR and MREFC start (FY14?)

No funding wedge available for mid-scale Seeking ways to create budget space

No GSMT commitment in FY12 request No current budget envelope for initiating the

recommended “small” increases, but protecting AAG & ATI near current levels

Pursuing Gemini governance & OIR issues Planning overall strategic review soon

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Strategic Review Plan

Assess the proper strategic balance within the division in 2015, 2020, and 2025, including all of the program Based on science program recommended by Astro2010 Specific realizable budget scenarios to be addressed Evolution of program also must be realizable Any facility decommissioning may require application of

significant funding before savings can be achieved AST working group settling the exact charge and

management plan for this strategic review Goal of receiving report by mid-2012

ALMA Status

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Improvements over current state of the art:

• Resolution – ~3X improvement• Light grasp – ~8X improvement (solar physics is

actually photon starved in some experiments)

Technical Specifications:• 4-m, off-axis Gregorian (all reflective), alt-az mount.• Integrated adaptive optics.• Hybrid enclosure with thermal control and dust

mitigation.• Wavelength sensitivity from 0.3-28 microns (near-

UV through thermal infrared).• Field of view: 3 arcminutes.• Angular resolution < 0.03 arcsecond.• Polarization accuracy < 0.01%.

ATST will be the world’s flagship facility for ground-based solar physics observation and the first large US public-access solar telescope constructed in the past 30 years.

ATST—Completion 2018

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Expanded Very Large Array

• VLA upgraded through the Expanded Very Large Array (EVLA) project– $94M: NSF, Canada, Mexico– NSF funding 2001 -> 2011– Scheduled for completion in

2012, on time and on budget– Same number of antennas.– All-new telescope

electronics.• Continuous frequency

coverage from 1–50 GHz • Exceedingly capable

Canadian correlator– Array data transmission via

fiber optics.• Shared-risk science now

Antarctic Astrophysics

• South Pole Telescope operations funded into 2012• Various smaller-scale astronomy projects• Operation of IceCube Neutrino Observatory 11

Move beyond the very successful NVO (international standards, software, data mining support, user interfaces, etc.) to a real astronomical observatory

NSF/NASA - Virtual Astronomical Observatory

“Just another observatory” where a wealth of detail is covered (hidden?) by the word “just”

VAO, LLC preliminary certification to receive federal funding agreed by NSF business office; NSF award made, May 2010; NASA contribution funded through existing centers

Strong link with Microsoft Research, World Wide Telescope product Research is being enabled – notable publications at

http://www.us-vo.org/pubs/notablepubs.cfm

Problem of marketing, branding12

The Dark Energy Survey Study Dark Energy using four

complementary* techniques: I. Cluster Counts II. Weak Lensing III. Baryon Acoustic Oscillations IV. Supernovae

Two multiband surveys: 5000 deg2 g, r, i, Z,Y to i~24 9 deg2 repeat (SNe)

Build new 3 deg2 cameraand Data Management system

DES 30% of 5 years of telescope Response to NOAO AO

DES Forecast: FoM up by 4.6

Blanco 4-meter at CTIO

*in systematics & in cosmological parameter degeneracies*geometric+structure growth: test Dark Energy vs. Gravity

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LSST - four main science goals

Dark Energy and Dark Matter

The structure of our Galaxy

An inventory of the Solar System

Transient events

40Tb = 10-year Sloan, every night

10-year prime mission

50,000-200,000 transients per night – many per second

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Year

Total $563M in as-spent, then-year dollars (FY14 start: NSF $392M, DOE $132M, private $39M)

10 years at $40.5M (FY11), ~$600M in then-year dollars 14

Citizen Science• Exploit Human Computation

− It takes a person to interpreta complex image

• Novel data collection: – Citizen Science = Volunteer Science– e.g., Volunteer Geographic Information– e.g., Galaxy Zoo @ http://www.galaxyzoo.org/

• Citizen science: the involvement of volunteer non-professionals in the research enterprise. The experience must be engaging, must work with real scientific data and information, must address authentic science research questions that are beyond the capacity of science teams and enterprises, and must involve the scientists.

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Concluding Remarks

Astronomy funding in the U.S. is healthy, and will support a robust program

In the context of a budget that does not increase, any new initiatives will require decommissioning, or creative use, of existing facilities

It will be essential that we make the most effective scientific use of public, private, and international facilities

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