Host institute: Jodrell Bank Centre for Astrophysics, University of Manchester
• Part of Interferometry Centre of Excellence, Jodrell Bank Centre for Astrophysics
• 4.05 FTE funded by STFC grant. 6 month reviews by STFC Oversight Committee
• Areas of expertise: Development of WVR algorithms/software; oxygen sounder; long baseline interferometry; phase heuristics, self-calibration
ARC node representative: Dr Tom Muxlow
Name
Gary Fuller
Tom Muxlow
Status
Staff
Staff
Anita Richards
George Bendo
Adam Avison
Staff
Staff
Staff
Rob Beswick
Ant Holloway
Staff
Staff
Host Secretarial Support Staff
FTE
0.1
0.5
1.0
1.0
1.0
0.1
0.25
0.1
Expertise/task
PI of Grant Galactic Star-formation User Support
Node Manager High-z Star-formation User Support
Evolved Stars User/Instrument Support
Dust in Galaxies User/Instrument Support
High mass Star-formation User/Instrument Support
Nearby Galaxies User/Support
IT Support
General Support
ARC node Expertise (Additional):
• Wide-field high dynamic-range imaging, astrometry, polzn., MFS, array combination
• EOC involvement – Long-baseline campaign, calibrator surveys
• OST development & maintenance (Avison), ALMA imaging simulation

Major current activities:
• Face-to-face support (CS, proposals), software development/testing, CSV & QA2 work, tutorials, training workshops
• Participation in EOC – Long baseline campaign
• OST development and maintenance
Funding:
• Initial 5 year grant from STFC (£1.7M) April 2009-2014. Extended for 2 years
• New grant application required for April 2016 for funding for the next 3-5 years
• £50k strategic grant for additional high-end IT hardware support for the UK node
Future perspectives:
• User support staffing to be maintained at present levels. Node skills to be enhanced
• In 2012, UK node merged with e-Merlin support to form Centre of Excellence.
Significant investment in IT provision under way. 8 independent high-specification compute nodes / raid arrays in situ to support up to 6 independent visitor teams
• New 10GB/s connectivity to be installed. Medium-term storage capacity on order
• Enhanced archival access and facilities for hosting large complex projects planned
• Long-term plan for full remote access together with ability to host consortia projects

Issues/concerns:
• Historically, UK funding for user support facilities has shown mixed results
• UK science funding is subject to frequent and regular programmatic review
• STFC and user support for UK node has increased and is now relatively strong – but can easily be damaged by a continuing lack of data throughput
• Incorporation into an ‘Interferometry Centre of Excellence’ adds a strategic element to arguments for long-term support – especially with regard to SKA
• If the future UK science budget is ring-fenced, there is every chance that funding at close the present level will continue.
Additional comments:
• Grant-funded support staff have no access to long-term academic careers in Astronomy at Manchester University – may lead to loss of highly trained staff
• Present funding from STFC is specifically for user support for UK ALMA users and does not include provision for substantial telescope support, except in regard to UK user data delivery. ICoE membership may help in this regard