Observing Proposals

Proposal Requirements

WHO MAY PROPOSE?

  • Qualified proposers may be (a) staff members or graduate students of an Arizona University; (b) a collaborator with such a staff member; or (c) a member of a Guaranteed Time institution.

    WHAT TO SUBMIT?

  • All proposals must use the current (v1.3) LaTex2e proposal forms: soprop.tex (template file), soprop.cls (class file).
  • Separate requests should be submitted for each distinct program. Unnecessary proliferation of proposals, however, is discouraged. A single proposal can request time on more than one telescope. Because of different levels of oversubscription or TAC judgment on the relative merits, it can occur that some runs are scheduled while others are not. There is no reason to split related observing into multiple proposals on the theory that the whole proposal will rise or fall on the basis of the most competitive telescope.
  • Four types of proposals are accepted: Long-term (2008A only); short-term; engineering; education and public outreach.

    HOW TO SUBMIT?

  • Submission includes BOTH eight paper copies delivered to the Director's Office (room 205) AND also an electronic PDF file attached to an email addressed to the TAC (tacprops@as.arizona.edu).
  • Graduate students must also email the TAC (tacprops@as.arizona.edu) a PDF file of their updated Research Plan endorsed by their advisory committee at a recent meeting.

    WHEN and WHERE?

  • Both the paper copies and the electronic files must arrive by the stated deadline (2008B: noon on February 27) to the locations stated above.

    To be Successful

  • Follow the instructions carefully.
  • Realize what the TAC considers important. TAC members generally base their grades on
  • overall scientific merit and feasibility;
  • demonstrated productivity using Arizona facilities such as refereed publications, conference proceedings, and prompt analysis of data;
  • availability of time requested.
  • Write clearly and simply. Please remember that the TAC is small and that all members grade all proposals. Therefore, while it is possible that there is a TAC member with expertise in your field, your proposal will be read and graded by many non-experts. It is essential that you present the scientific motivation for your proposal in language that astronomers outside your field can easily understand.
  • It is essential to demonstrate to the TAC that the proposers have been effective in using Arizona facilities. Proposers should cite recent publications based on data obtained at Arizona facilities and should describe progress in analyzing data obtained in previous trimesters.