rubinann17023 — Announcement

Rubin Digest 24 October 2017

24 October 2017

Project & Science News

On the summit of Cerro Pachón, the grouting of the azimuth/dome interface has been completed (click here for a photo). Subcontractor EIE recently held an onsite assembly plan review to confirm the sequence of construction activities, and plans to begin installation of the azimuth rail sections this week.

The Primary/Tertiary Mirror (M1M3) cell underwent vacuum testing at subcontractor CAID last week, to identify and eliminate any leaks in the cell. Click here for a photo of the sealed cell during testing, which concluded successfully on October 18. Installation of static supports is scheduled to get underway this week.

The first filter for the Commissioning Camera has been completed and has arrived at the Project Office in Tucson. The i-band filter, which is about 12 inches in diameter, is currently undergoing testing in the optics lab.

Longtime LSST Communications Manager Suzanne Jacoby will transition to the role of Senior Communications Consultant on October 30. Suzanne will continue to advise and assist with communications projects in a part-time role, but will transfer her day-to-day communications duties to Ranpal Gill. Ranpal, in turn, will be assuming the role of Communications Manager on a 50% time basis. As a reminder, please email communications-team@lists.lsst.org with any issues requiring the attention of the Communications team.

As previously announced, Lucianne Walkowicz has stepped down as coordinator of the LSST Science Collaborations to take a new position as Astrobiology Chair at the Library of Congress.  The Science Collaboration chairs have elected a new coordinator, Federica Bianco of New York University.  Federica is also co-chair of the Transients and Variable Stars Science Collaboration. Welcome aboard, Federica!

Congratulations to LSST Solar System Science Collaboration co-chair Meg Schwamb, who was awarded the Carl Sagan Medal for Excellence in Public Communication in Planetary Science at the American Astronomical Society’s Division for Planetary Science meeting in Provo, UT. Meg was honored for her work in creating innovative tools to engage a broader audience in planetary science.

Personnel News

John Swinbank, LSST Deputy Project Manager for Data Management, successfully relocated from Princeton to UW in early October.

On October 12, Lydia Young, Division Director for the Mechanical Engineering and Technical Services Division (METSD) in SLAC's Accelerator Directorate, joined the LSST Camera project as the Camera Production Manager with a focus on LSST SLAC activities. In this role, Lydia will support the project in making sure camera fabrication and assembly is optimized from a technical and resource standpoint across activities at SLAC. Lydia will become part of the LSST Camera project office part time and still retain her current role in AD-METSD.

Marco Oriunno joined the Camera subsystem on October 16 as LSST Camera Body and Shutter Manager. He will be based at SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory in Stanford, CA.

Alan Eisner joined the Camera subsystem on October 11 as Physicist with Camera Control Systems at SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory in Stanford, CA.

Upcoming Meetings with LSST Involvement

(those with asterisk* are LSSTC funded):

2017

October 22-26: Astronomical Data Analysis Software and Systems (ADASS) Conference, Santiago, Chile

October 26-28: Society of Women Engineers WE17 Conference, Austin, TX

October 27-29: International Virtual Observatory Alliance (IVOA) meeting, Santiago, Chile

November 1-3: Data Management Leadership Team face-to-face meeting, Tucson

November 7-9: LSST Safety Council Review, La Serena, Chile

November 30 - December 1: AURA Workforce & Diversity Committee (WDC), Baltimore, MD

December 4-8: LSST/DESC 2017 Fall/Winter Sprint Week,  Argonne National Laboratory, Lemont, IL*

December 5-7: Dual Agency Review of the Operations Proposal, Tucson, AZ

December 18-19: Project Science Team Meeting, Tucson, AZ

2018

January 8-12: American Astronomical Society (AAS) 231st Meeting, National Harbor, MD 

January 10: LSST Town Hall at AAS 231, 7:30 pm

February 5: Dark Energy School, SLAC, CA*

February 5-9: LSST-DESC Collaboration Meeting, SLAC, Menlo Park, CA*

June 10-15: SPIE Astronomical Telescopes and Instrumentation Meeting, Austin, TX

April 18-20: Statistical Challenges for Large-scale Structure in the Era of LSST, Oxford, UK*

June 11-15: LSST@Europe3, Lyon, France

August 13-17: LSST Project and Community Workshop 2018, Tucson, AZ