The American Astronomical Society, representing more than 6500 astronomers from the US and abroad, released the following statement on the Atacama Large Millimeter Array (ALMA). This instrument is under construction in Chile and is a joint project of North America and Europe with future anticipated participation from Japan.
The statement has been made in response to the support for the program given by the National Science Board at its most recent meeting on May 9 and 10, 2006. Commenting on the matter, Dr. J. Craig Wheeler, President-Elect of the American Astronomical Society, said “ALMA is an excellent example of an international cooperative effort that will benefit astronomy across a wide range of disciplines.
NSF is to be congratulated for finding the means to move this project forward in an external environment of rising expenses.” Dr. Wheeler is the Samuel T. and Fern Yanagisawa Regents Professor of Astronomy at The University of Texas at Austin.
AAS Statement on the Atacama Large Millimeter Array
