NA ALMA Cycle 9 Call for Project Proposals

The National Radio Astronomy Observatory (NRAO) invites interested parties to submit proposals for Projects to Upgrade the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA). Principal Investigators (and funded co-investigators) for NA ALMA Development projects or studies must have as their primary affiliation a US or Canadian institution. ALMA development projects should address the goals described in the ALMA Development Roadmap  which lays out the vision for keeping ALMA at the forefront of scientific discovery into the 2030s. Of particular interest to the NA ALMA Partnership are development projects that will enable larger correlated bandwidths, improve receiver sensitivity, and improvements to the ALMA Science Archive.

A general description of the ALMA Development Program can be found in the Principles for the ALMA Development Program. Also see the full range of applicable documents in the Table at the bottom of this page. In particular, if you are considering a Front-end or Correlator submission, see the draft ALMA 2030 System Specification Recommendations.

Questions about this Call for Proposals

Questions related to this Call for Proposals should be submitted via almadevelopment@nrao.edu.

A Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) page is available, and will be updated as questions are received and answered.

Information/Coordination Meeting - February 16, 2021

An informational webinar with question/answer period will be held on February 16, 2021. Registration is required to attend the webinar, see the Coordination Meeting Webpage for more information.

Submission of a Notice of Intent (NOI) is Mandatory

Proposers are required to submit a Project Proposal Notice of Intent by March 1, 2021 (midnight ET). This will ensure that all Proposers are included in the Cycle 9 Call mailing list, and that proposals can be reviewed in a timely fashion. An NOI is non-binding, but project proposals that have not been preceded by an NOI will not be accepted. Please submit your NOI by filling out the following WEB FORM.

NOTE: Prospective NRAO Proposers are required to submit a New Ideas Form for approval by the NRAO Director before proceeding.

Preparing a Cycle 9 Project Proposal

Details regarding the preparation of a Cycle 9 Project Proposal can be found in the following documents:

Submitting a Cycle 9 Project Proposal

Submit the completed Cycle 9 Project Proposal (with signatures), in “.pdf” format, online at this proposal submission WEB FORM.

Cycle 9 Project Proposals received by 11:59pm EDT, 9 April 2021 will receive full consideration. Individual organizations and institutions may submit multiple proposals. Each proposal, however, must comply fully with all of the applicable requirements, including content and submission by the deadline. If you experience problems with submission please email almadevelopment@nrao.edu asap -- be sure to do so before the deadline passes.

Call for Cycle 9 Project Proposals Schedule

* See the Proposal Instructions for complete description of approval/notification procedure

Supporting Documents & Links