Proposals

[Anita Richards]

If we are looking at use-case driven priorities for standards, then
something else which has come up in RadioNet is Proposal Tools.

Reps from European radio observatories and ALMA have had discussions about
designing as homogenous as possible an interface for users making
web-based observing proposals.  I know that something similar is going on
with US radio (at least) observatories, and as the common link is ALMA
there is some hope of overall coherence....

We did identify the need to establish a common model (not for small
details, just to simplify terminology etc.).  The drivers for this are
a) Allow software to be shared (as proposal tools use exposure calculators
etc.)
b) Reduce the learning curve for users
c) Make it easier to make multi-telescope proposals

There is also the wish to use VO facilities to search for calibration
sources etc. and invesigate what is known already about the region of
interest.  More widely, the concept includes all kinds of proposals
including for supercomputing facilities and potentially for very demanding
VO projects!

At present we don't envisage proposal tools integrated into VO interfaces
nor that a search for X would produce a response 'no data yet but you
could propose an observation with IRAM, deadline 99th of Thermidor'
(although projects like ESTAR are moving in this direction), but to employ
a VO approach to standards and to link to VO facilities (e.g. cone
search).

I am probably not going to Kyoto and I don't know if it is worth a special
session, but if anyone else is interested we can set up a forum.

cheers
a

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Dr. Anita M. S. Richards, AstroGrid Astronomer
MERLIN/VLBI National Facility, University of Manchester,
Jodrell Bank Observatory, Macclesfield, Cheshire SK11 9DL, U.K.
tel +44 (0)1477 572683 (direct); 571321 (switchboard); 571618 (fax).