lsstpo's blog

September 12, 2014 - The LSST Hiring Campaign continues to attract Top Talent to the project team. Frossie Economou joined LSST on August 4. 2014, as Technical Manager for Data Management (DM) and Education & Public Outreach (EPO). She splits her time between building a team to support the development and science quality activities of the far-flung DM group and planning for the software development effort of the EPO team. Frossie is very excited by the technical ambition of the LSST project, the open-source software development culture, and the extraordinary opportunities presented by the data, both for academic research and public engagement.

September 5, 2014 - The Large Synoptic Survey Telescope is under construction on Cerro Pachón, an 8,800-foot (2,682-meter) mountain peak in north-central Chilé (30°14′40.7″S 70°44′57.9″W). This video shows how the site looked in March of 2012, as David Walker, a computer programmer in the NOAO-S CISS group and pilot, took a tour in a Cessna 172.  Approaching from the north, David first shows us the SOAR and Gemini-South telescopes, before passing the LSST site, both the "calibration hill" and primary platform.   Initial site preparations took place in March of 2011.

August 28, 2014 - The LSST 2014 Project and Community Workshop took place in Phoenix, AZ, August 11 - 15, bringing over 250 participants to the Valley of the Sun for a week of extensive and productive interaction.  120 of those participants also attended a concurrent workshop on the LSST Observing Cadence co-hosted by NOAO and LSST with its own week-long series of discussions on how to optimize the cadence to maximize both static and transient/variable science results.   Plenary and Breakout presentations are linked to the workshop we

August 13, 2014 - The LSST Telescope Mount Assembly (TMA) contract has been signed by AURA and vendor GHESA Ingeniería y Tecnología, S.A (in consortium with ASTURFEITO, S.A.). The official signing took place in Spain between AURA President William Smith (right) and GHESA Union Temporal de Empresas Manager Luis Garcia Marchena (left) and witnessed by Spanish notary Jose Maria Garcia Pedraza. 

August 4, 2014 - The long awaited news has arrived - LSST has received its federal construction start as described in these press releases from AURA and the NSF.  On Friday afternoon, August 1, the NSF authorized the LSST project for construction with $27.5M in FY14 and a budget plan that stays within a $473M overall budget cap.  The effort to make LSST a reality that began in the mid-1990s will be realized in the start of science operations in 2022.   LSST has broken through the technology, science, and political challenges and is on its way to revolutionizing both our cosmic knowledge and the open and collaborative methods of acquiring that knowledge.  With thanks to the hard work by so many who contributed to this milestone and every confidence in the project team to complete the construction task, we are excited to begin this next phase for LSST.

The LSST Project Office is pleased to welcome Administrative Assistant Carol Chirino to the LSST team. Carol will support daily operation of the LSST office in Chile, including providing support for local and visiting staff. She will coordinate LSST administration in Chile with the LSST Project Office in Tucson. Most recently a bi-lingual administrative specialist for Gemini South Operations Support, Carol has 12 years experience in demanding office environments. Before Gemini, she worked as an administrative assistant for the University of Alberta Hospital in Edmondton, Alberta, Canada.

Carol's first day with the LSSTPO is August 1, 2014. Her contact information can be found in the LSST Contacts Database, which is accessible from the project office website's home page.

June 18,  2014 - LSST's hiring campaign will be the focus of the Project's booth on the exhibit floor of the SPIE  Astronomical Telescopes and Instrumentation meeting in Montreal, Quebec, Canada June 25-26. Stop by, or encourage others who might be interested, to discover the exciting career opportunities available with the Project now and in near future.

June 17, 2014 - The LSST Project welcomes Eduardo Serrano as the Site Manager for the Telescope and Site team in Chile. Eduardo joins the LSST team in La Serena, most recently working at the SOAR telescope as site manager since 1998. He will work closely with Jeff Barr, the Project Architect, to support the upcoming summit facility construction activities and operate as the overall onsite safety manager to ensure compliance to LSST safety policies. Eduardo has a degree in mechanical engineering from the University of La Serena and previously worked at CTIO in support of telescope engineering activities.

June 11, 2014 - In anticipation of our federal construction start, LSST is seeking scientific, engineering, education, and administrative talent now and in the near future for the construction and eventual operation of this new generation observing facility.  LSST sees the diversity of its team as a critical component in constructing and operating a large scientific facility of value to all.  We reflect that deep commitment by strongly encouraging women, minorities, veterans and disabled individuals to apply for the opportunities offered here.  The LSST Hiring Campaign website will be updated to show new pos

May 8, 2014 - Congratulations to the LSST camera team for successful completion of their Critical Decision 3A (CD-3A) review May 6 & 7, 2014!  CD-3A approval will allow the project to proceed with long lead procurements.  The review panel recommended that CD-3A approval be granted by DOE, with no other recommendations or actions.  There were many positive comments from the review committee regarding our team and their progress.  Congratulations to the camera team for all the hard work that led to this positive outcome.