USIC MEETING April 17th 2008

MSC: Rachel Akeson
NRL: Tom Armstrong
MROI: Rachael Creech-Eakman; Eric Bakker
NOAO: Steve Ridgway
CHARA: Theo ten Brummelaar (Chair)
NASA: Dave Leisawitz

1. Action items from previous meeting.
2. Physics Today Article
3. WiKi Page Updates.
4. Update on Decadal Review Panel formation.
5. Other Items.

1. Theo: Write to Physics Today Editors about article. Update WiKi. Talk to John Monnier about representing us at Decadal sub-committee: Physics today has been contacted and we await a response from teh Editorial Board. We should hear in a month or two.
2. Steve: Talk to Wes Traub about the Decadal Review: Not done.
3. Andy: Talk to Charles Alcock about the Decadal Review: Not done.
4. Michelle: Ask people from Goddard if they will be attending the AAS and if they would be willing to distribute the broacher. Note: Nils Turner from CHARA will be there and might do the same: Nils will attend the meeting and can distribute borachers if we wish.
5. All: Contact people concerning attending upcoming science meetings: Being done.
6. Rachael: Send Theo the list of upcoming meetings for the WiKi page: Done

See comments above.

Mostly updated. Send material to pj@chara-array.org who is responsible for updates. We discussed opening up the Wiki to the public, maybe as part of informing the community before/during the SPIE. This still requires the ability to be able to control access to parts of the page, which in turn requires paying a fee to the wikispace.com people. All agreed that this should be done.

We nedd to think about people to nominate to the panel. We agreed that we should nominate as a group. There are community comments on the web page for the Decadal Review and we should all read these community comments and add comments of our own.

It was agreed that we should invite a representative of LBTI to participate in USIC. Steve will contact Phil Hinz. Including other groups can be done via working groups and the Wiki. The SPIE meeting will be an opportunity to make a broad call to the community.

This is our best oportunity, and last in the important time frame of the Decadal Review, to get the word out that USIC exists and to invite the broader community to participate. We need to get teh word out that there will be a breakout meeting at the SPIE. It was suggested that this would be a good time to initiate working several groups, probably in: technology, science, development of current programs, planning for the more-distant future.

Next meetings to be held on May 7th and June 12th 2008.

Steve: Contact Wes Traub.

Steve: Contact Phil Hinz

Steve: Ask about travel support at NOAO for a possible working group meeting.

Steve: Draft letter to OLBIN, to be reviewed by Theo and Tom.

All: Think about nominees to the Decadal panel.

All: Read and add to comments on NRC Decadal web site (http://www7.nationalacademies.org/bpa/Astro2010.html)