Advising STScI on Science Operations Support
The Roman Space Telescope Advisory Committee (RSTAC) was convened in January 2020 by the STScI Director, Kenneth Sembach, to advise him on optimum strategies and priorities for the science program and science operations of the Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope to maximize the observatory’s scientific productivity. The RSTAC includes members representing the U.S. and international astronomical communities and provides advice in a number of areas including:
- Community engagement in key Roman science themes,
- The readiness status of the Science Operations Center (SOC) to support the broad user community,
- The interfaces between the SOC and other Roman structural components, including the Roman Science Investigation Teams,
- Data management and the archival legacy,
- The overall strategy for observing time allocation.
The RSTAC will meet generally twice a year, reporting to the STScI Director. Its findings and recommendations, and the STScI Director’s response, will be made available to NASA and the community.
RSTAC information
The Space Telescope Science Institute, the Science and Operations Center for the Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope, is appointing a Roman Advisory Committee. The committee is charged with advising the STScI Director on optimum strategies and priorities, consistent with NASA policy, for the science program and science operations of Roman in order to maximize the observatory’s scientific productivity. The RSTAC is appointed by the STScI Director and includes members representing the U.S. and international astronomical communities.
Specific topics that the RSTAC will advise the Director on include:
- Establishing vision for Roman as a NASA Great Observatory,
- Community engagement in Roman science themes,
- Advocacy and messaging appropriate for an observatory of this scale,
- Readiness of the Science Operations Center (SOC) to support the broad user community,
- Effectiveness of working relationships, relative roles, and responsibilities of the SOC and the Roman Science Investigation Teams (SITs), and the maturity of the interfaces between those units,
- Data management, computation, and archival strategies for Roman,
- Data accessibility and community funding preparations,
- Observing time allocation strategies, levels of work effort, and resource allocation, including overall balance between survey programs and pointed programs.
It is anticipated that the RSTAC, consisting of 8-10 members of the astronomical community and several ex-officio members, will meet twice a year at STScI and hold occasional telecons as needed. The RSTAC will report directly to the STScI Director. It is expected that RSTAC findings and recommendations, and the STScI Director’s response, will be shared with NASA and the community as appropriate.
The RSTAC is chaired by Zachory Berta-Thompson (University of Colorado) and has the following members:
| Name | Institution |
|---|---|
| Zachory Berta-Thompson (Chair) | University of Colorado |
| Enzo Branchini | University of Genova |
| Wendy Freedman | University of Chicago |
| Joshua Frieman | Fermi National Laboratory |
| Raffaella Margutti | University of California, Berkeley |
| Karen Masters | Haverford College |
| John Mather | Goddard Space Flight Center |
| Matthew Penny | Louisiana State University |
| Adam Riess | Johns Hopkins University/STScI |
| Name | Institution |
|---|---|
| Dominic Benford | Program Scientist for Roman, NASA HQ |
| Julie McEnery | Roman Project Scientist, Goddard Space Flight Center |
| Neill Reid | RSTAC Executive Secretary, STScI |
| David Spergel | Roman Wide Field Instrument Adjutant Scientist, Flatiron Institute/Princeton University |
8th Committee Meeting
November 2, 2023
7th Committee Meeting
November 9, 2022
6th Committee Meeting
March 3, 2022
5th Committee Meeting
November 29, 2021
4th Committee Meeting
February 11-12, 2021
3rd Committee Meeting
June 30, 2020
2nd Committee Meeting
February 12-13, 2020
1st Committee Meeting
January 8, 2020
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The NASA Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope is managed by NASA/GSFC with participation of STScI, Caltech/IPAC, and NASA/JPL.
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