OPTICON The Optical Infrared Co-ordination Network for Astronomy.

John Davies

OPTICON Project Scientist.

UK Astronomy Technology Centre (UKATC)

Royal Observatory, Edinburgh

Five year contract for 19,200,000 Euro + substantial national matching funds. Effective 1 January 2004 - 31 December 2008.

47 contractors including funding agencies, user groups and SME.

6 JRAs (~11 Me + extra national funds) 22 Telescope Access Programme. (~5.5Me) 14 Networks (~3 Me incl Management)

The OPTICON Vision

Develop a stronger community able to build and operate 21st Century facilities for Optical-IR Astronomy

Networking Highlights• Management Board brings together all major observatory operators

and funding agencies to discuss agreed national priorities and co-ordinate strategic future planning.

• White book on future of UV astronomy in press, 4 day conference planned May 28th 2007 (poster in our stand)

• Roadmap of Future Key technologies in place to guide future R & D.

• Interferometry exchange visits widen this specialised community.

• All European 2-4m Telescope Directors meet annually in Telescope Directors Forum- already leading to ideas about rationalisation.

• Transnational Access Office provides point of contact for potential future users of EU infrastructures

E-ELT Progress• OPTICON has made real progress in co-

ordination, including an agreed approach for an ELT. Science case distributed as a books and CD

ESO-OPTICON E-ELT meeting in Marseilles at end November 2006

Joint Research Projects • JRA1: Adaptive Optics. : AO for existing 8m such as VLT,

GTC, LBT.

• JRA2: Fast Detectors

for AO : Contract placed

for detector

Joint Research Projects • JRA3: Optical Detectors for HTRA :

EMCCD’s for practical test bench, APD arrays, PN Sensors

• JRA4: Interferometry: Next generation instruments for VLTI.

• JRA5: Smart Focal Planes: First prototypes of hardware displayed at SPIE meeting in Florida.

• JRA6:VPH Gratings: Prototype gratings in production

Structuring Effect• OPTICON has catalysed communities such as

Interferometry, UV astronomy, solar astronomy to come together and develop wider strategic goals.

• Several JRA have built very positive pan-European collaborations which are expected to continue into FP7.

• Rationalisation of European medium telescopes is no longer an impossible dream.

• Special Efforts are being made to engage with CEE countries.

Towards FP7• We expect FP7 to offer OPTICON-like

contracts, with a call in late 2007 and contract start about end 2008

• OPTICON has resolved to move into FP7 on a wide front, much as in FP6.

• First planning meeting in Edinburgh in June attended by 70 people and many ideas presented.

FP7 Plans• Edinburgh meeting proposed about 80 Million Euro

of ideas, mostly continuations of existing projects.

• OPTICON has issued a call for other, completely new, ideas by early October

• Executive/Board will ‘long-list’ these ideas in late October and ask potential workpackage leaders to work up detailed proposals to be ready by Spring 2007 ready for short-listing and then the EU call for proposals.

FP7 Plans

• Telescope directors are working on a new, more radical, access programme with more flexibility than existing contract and more emphasis on rationalisation of facilities.

• Common proposal tool under-development as a first step towards closer integration.

Conclusion

• A large number of EU optical-IR-night-solar telescopes are open for new communities via TNA

• EU wide collaborations in R & D have been established and are working well, several patents awarded and spin off already happening.

• Significant new interactions at funding agency level is leading to co-ordinated planning.

• The Future for European Collaboration is bright.

FIN

Contacts

WWW. www.astro-opticon.org

E-mail. jkd@roe.ac.uk

Phone 44-131-668-8348

Handouts, ELT brochure, overview paper etc can be downloaded from the web page.

ManagementCo-ordinator: Prof Gerard (Gerry) Gilmore. Institute of

Astronomy, Cambridge, UK.

Project Scientist: Dr John Davies. UK Astronomy Technology Centre, Royal Observatory, Edinburgh.

OPTICON Board: (Chairperson. Dr Wilfried Boland) comprises 18 partners and sets overall strategy and priorities at annual meeting.

Executive committee: (Chairperson G. Gilmore) make the detailed decisions and meets at least twice a year.

Outreach + dissemination• Website (of course) including PDF of brochures• Talks at JENAM etc published in proceedings• Complete set of handouts (1 per activity) downloadable

and can be used as A1 posters• Regular presentations at international meetings• Visits to national astronomy meetings• Stand at IAU conference in Prague• Regular column in EAS Newsletter• Pens, badges etc