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“SAC”, the experts' opinion
19/10/2006
Important science projects can normally count on the services of a group of experts who make initial recommendations and monitor progress. The GTC has such a group, made up of members of "SAC", the "Scientific Advisory Committee".
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The SAC's main purpose is to provide advice to the Administrative Council and the Director of GRANTECAN on the GTC's scientific requirements. It meets regularly to evaluate solutions proposed for problems that arise and to make recommendations about the future use of the telescope.
SAC
The SAC first met in October 1997 at La Laguna in Tenerife. The meeting was intense and centred around an exhaustive discussion of what were then still conceptual designs for the Gran Telescopio CANARIAS (GTC).
The group has met 3 times a year since then, to monitor progress against the final design specifications and to set the priorities for the different stages of the project: design, construction and testing.
The SAC plays a key role in the specification, prioritisation and selection of instruments for the GTC. It is also the main point of contact between the project office and the astronomical community.
Finally, the SAC will promote scientific activity in the early days of the GTC, supporting the project office while the telescope undergoes final testing between "First Light" and "Day One".
Membership of the SAC is not static: it is regularly changed.
GLOSSARY
“First Light” is the first time the telescope comes into contact with light: it is like seeing for the first time; it marks the beginning of "Commissioning”or final preparation of the telescope and its subsystems; the point following this stage, when the telescope is ready to start work, is called “Day One” to denote the start of scientific activity.
Natalia R. Zelman