Technical Advisory Council

The ngVLA Technical Advisory Council (TAC) acts as the interface between NRAO and engineering and computing experts within the radio astronomy community, providing feedback and guidance as we move towards a final design for a next-generation centimeter-to-millimeter wave interferometer centered around the Very Large Array site on the Plains of San Agustin in New Mexico. A similar call for the ngVLA Science Advisory Council (SAC) was made in September 2016. The ngVLA SAC and TAC are cornerstones of a program to fully engage the astronomical, computing, and radio engineering communities to develop the ngVLA project for submission to the Astro2020 decadal review.

Membership of the ngVLA TAC was selected to cover a broad range of expertise in relevant technical areas, such as antennas, low noise receiver systems, cryogenics, data transmission, correlators, and data processing and analysis. 

The current ngVLA TAC membership is listed in the following table.

Inaugural ngVLA Technical Advisory Council
Sarah Church Stanford
Larry D’Addario JPL
Sean Dougherty NRC
Mark Gurwell CfA
Andy Harris Maryland
Tetsuo Hasegawa  NAOJ
Jeff Kantor LSST
Stan Kurtz UNAM
James Lamb (co-chair) Caltech
Michael Rupen NRC
Melissa Soriano (co-chair) JPL
Sander Weinreb Caltech
Ex-Officio Members
Rob Selina NRAO (ngVLA Project Engineer)
Barry Clark NRAO (Emeritus)

Connect with NRAO

The NSF National Radio Astronomy Observatory and NSF Green Bank Observatory are facilities of the U.S. National Science Foundation operated under cooperative agreement by Associated Universities, Inc.

Founded in 1956, the NSF NRAO provides state-of-the-art radio telescope facilities for use by the international scientific community. NSF NRAO telescopes are open to all astronomers regardless of institutional or national affiliation. Observing time on NSF NRAO telescopes is available on a competitive basis to qualified scientists after evaluation of research proposals on the basis of scientific merit, the capability of the instruments to do the work, and the availability of the telescope during the requested time. NSF NRAO also provides both formal and informal programs in education and public outreach for teachers, students, the general public, and the media.

The U.S. National Science Foundation (U.S. NSF) is an independent federal agency created by Congress in 1950 "to promote the progress of science; to advance the national health, prosperity, and welfare; to secure the national defense..."

AUI collaborates with the scientific community and research sponsors to plan, build, and operate cutting-edge facilities. We cultivate excellence, deliver value, enhance education, and engage the public.