2017 TMT Early Career Workshop

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A workshop for graduate students, postdoctoral researchers, and early career professionals from the Thirty Meter Telescope (TMT) International Observatory, including Caltech, Canada, China, India, Japan, and University of California.

August 22-29, 2017, Santa Cruz, California, USA

  • Workshop Specifics

    This workshop was scientific and technical, and was much like a “summer school” style event, with more emphasis on professional skills that are highly valued by TMT and large projects in general. Sessions gave participants an opportunity to learn and practice skills such as working effectively on interdisciplinary, international teams; defining technical requirements based on science goals, and managing projects. Throughout the workshop, TMT leaders provided presentations on topics such as TMT instruments, project management, systems engineering, software, and the role of scientists in TMT now and into the future. The workshop included two sessions that gave participants an extended period of time to work in small teams, and spanned multiple days:

    • Instrument design: Participants worked in small international teams to work through the process of designing an instrument, including conceptual design, defining science cases and requirements, and down-selecting. Some participants acted as a science advisory committee (SAC), gaining experience in how SACs work.
    • TMT Mini-Projects: Participants collaborated on small projects informing specific case studies or problems of interest to the TMT Project Office, the TMT community, and the ISEE/TMT International Program. For example, coming up with a template for the next TMT detailed science case, or working on priorities for TMT data pipeline and archive use cases.

    Participants also toured historic Lick Observatory and the Laboratory for Adaptive Optics at UCSC, and learned about the roles these facilities play in piloting technologies for larger facilities like TMT.

    The workshop concluded with a poster session, in which participants shared their work with each other, instructors, and members of the UC Santa Cruz astronomy community.

    Workshop Agenda [download]

  • Workshop Aims

    This workshop was offered to graduate students and postdoctoral researchers from across the Thirty Meter Telescope (TMT) International Observatory. The workshop is designed to support international collaboration among the TMT partners by engaging those in the early stages of their career in TMT and providing a workshop experience that:

    • Develops professional skills needed to be successful in TMT and similar projects, including international collaboration, and project management
    • Provides an experience with the instrument design process
    • Enables participants to see how they can contribute to TMT and engage in current TMT projects
    • Builds community among TMT future users and leaders, and connects them to current TMT leaders

    The workshop was also intended to pilot a key component of TMT Early-Career Initiative (TECI), and workshop participants contributed ideas that have been incorporated into TECI and future TECI workshops.

  • Partcipating Organziations

    Thirty Meter Telescope International Observatory

    University of California Observatories

    Institute for Scientist & Engineer Educators (UC Santa Cruz)

    TMT Workforce, Education, Public Outreach, and Communication (WEPOC) Commitee

    Lick Observatory

    UCSC Laboratory for Adaptive Optics

    Institute for Scientist & Engineer Educators (UC Santa Cruz)

    TMT Wide-Field Optical Spectrometer (WFOS) team

  • Speakers & Instructors

    Gary Sander, Project Manager, Thirty Meter Telescope

    Scott Roberts, Systems Engineering Group Leader, Thirty Meter Telescope

    Hanne Buur, Software Group Leader, Thirty Meter Telescope

    Warren Skidmore, Telescope Research Scientist, Thirty Meter Telescope

    Christophe Dumas, Head of Operations, Thirty Meter Telescope

    Sandra Dawson, Manager of Hawai’i Community Affairs, Thirty Meter Telescope

    Renate Kupke, Adaptive Optics Project Scientist, University of California Observatories

    Kevin Bundy, WFOS Principal Investigator, University of California Observatories

    Maureen Savage,WFOS Project Scientist, University of California Observatories

    Matt Radovan, WFOS Lead Engineer, University of California Observatories

    Dave Palmer, Project Scientist and Software Engineer, Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory

    Jessica Lu, Assistant Professor and IRIS Science Team member, University of California, Berkeley

    Lisa Hunter, Director, Institute for Scientist and Engineer Educators

    Austin Barnes, Education & Workforce Development Program Manager, Institute for Scientist and Engineer Educators

    Nicholas McConnell, Education & Workforce Development Program Manager, Institute for Scientist and Engineer Educators

  • Workshop Participants

    42 graduate students and postdocs from across the TMT partnership, including Caltech, Canada, China, India, Japan, and University of California

    List of All Participants