TMT Science Forum - An Opportunity to Explore and Shape the Science Case for TMT

The Thirty-Meter Telescope Observatory will host the inaugural "TMT Science Forum" on July 22 and 23, 2013 at the Waikoloa Resort on the island of Hawaii. The TMT is an international project to build and operate a 30-m telescope located on Mauna Kea, HI. The program will consist of talks and workshop discussions exploring TMT science, first-light and future instruments, observatory operations, archiving and data products, key projects and cross-partnership collaborations, and astronomy education and science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) opportunities.

There is no registration fee for the forum and all are welcome to attend.

The TMT Forum also provides an opportunity to engage the broad US astronomical community in the Observatory planning based on a new Cooperative Agreement between the TMT and the US National Science Foundation. Astronomers attending the forum will have an opportunity to become involved in defining and shaping the science case for TMT. For more information about opportunities for US-based astronomers with TMT, see http://tmt.org/news-center/engaging-us-astronomy-community-nsf-awards-partnership-planning-grant-tmt.

Registration for the forum is now open at the http://conference.ipac.caltech.edu/tmtsf. As part of the NSF-TMT agreement, some travel funding will be available for US community members (who are not at TMT institutions) to attend the forum. To request consideration for travel funding, send an email to [email protected] with your name, institutional affiliation, and areas of interest relevant to TMT.

TMT is the next-generation astronomical observatory and is scheduled to begin scientific operations in 2021 on Mauna Kea, Hawaii. 

TMT plans to begin preparing the ground for construction on Mauna Kea before the end of the year with a construction start date slated for April 2014.