Pathways to the Future of the Arecibo Observatory (AO) Workshop; San Juan, Puerto Rico; February 17-20, 2019

The University Of Central Florida Board Of Trustees, Orlando FL

Investigators

Abstract

This grant is to organize the "Pathways to the Future of Arecibo Observatory (AO) Workshop" to be held February 17-20, 2019 in San Juan Puerto Rico. AO's cornerstone research facility is a 305-meter diameter spherical reflector, located in Barrio Esperanza, Arecibo, Puerto Rico. This facility has a unique cluster of instruments, making it a center of excellence with exceptional capabilities to enhance our knowledge in the Space Sciences. The observatory continues to be a magnet for Hispanic and other underrepresented groups. It has extensive educational resources for students, teachers and the public. This workshop is being hosted by the new management of AO, the University of Central Florida (UCF), with the goal of promoting innovative ideas for new research activities at AO. The workshop provides a meeting space so that key stakeholders, community scientists and local students and teachers can come together to create a shared vision of future research to be conducted at AO. It is expected to harness the expertise and forward-thinking leadership of the participants to help create tangible ways to promote cutting-edge research and involve wider participation from the scientific community. A broad range of science is carried out at AO and no single science meeting covers all of topics in one place. Therefore, this workshop was conceived to bring all stakeholders together in one place at one time. This workshop seeks to widen the AO research and science plans for the next decade or so, and the technical improvements that will be needed to guarantee the success of that research. An expected outcome is that the discussions facilitated by this workshop will help maintain AO's status as one of the premier research institutions in the world, and Puerto Rico as the location where breakthrough discoveries can and will happen in the next decade. Furthermore, white papers generated from this meeting may be used to inform Decadal Surveys being facilitated by the National Academies. The following overarching question will be addressed at the workshop: What key scientific questions, emerging science opportunities, and technical advances will scientists be pursuing in the next decade? The discussion is expected to lead to the development of next-generation instruments using existing infrastructure and broaden their scope beyond traditional approaches of doing science. This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.