Liverpool Telescope Oversight
Although the Liverpool Telescope (LT) is owned by Liverpool John Moores University (LJMU), its operation and performance are monitored and advised by a number of internal and external bodies.
Users are encouraged to send feedback on their LT experience (at any time) using this form.
LT Oversight Committee (LTOC)
The Oversight Committee meets approximately twice a year and considers programmatic issues pertaining to the current use and future direction of the LT. The current membership of the LTOC is:
| LTOC | |
| Name | Institution |
| Prof Clive Tadhunter (chair) | University of Sheffield |
| Dr John Beckman | Instituto de Astrofísica de Canarias |
| Dr David Bersier | Liverpool John Moores University |
| Ms Sharon Bonfield | Science & Technology Facilities Council |
| Mr Allan Clements | National STEM Centre |
| Prof Tim Naylor | University of Exeter |
| Prof Andrew Newsam | Liverpool John Moores University/NSO |
| Dr Tim Roberts | Durham University |
| Prof Stephen Smartt | Queens University Belfast |
| Prof Andrew Young | Liverpool John Moores University |
LT User Group (LTUG)
The LT User Group comprises (usually four) external and (usually two) internal LJMU members. Guided by the LTUG Charter, the goal of this group is to evaluate and comment upon the day-to-day operations of the telescope, the performance of its instruments, and the productivity of the observatory as a whole. The LTUG meets one or two times a year. The current membership of the LTUG is:
| LTUG | ||
| Name | Institution | Since |
| Prof Stephen Smartt (chair) | Queens University Belfast | April 2013 |
| Dr David Anderson | University of Keele | April 2014 |
| Dr Nicolas Lodieu | Instituto de Astrofísica de Canarias | March 2015 |
| Dr Matt Darnley | Liverpool John Moores University | April 2013 |
| Dr Stacey Habergham | Liverpool John Moores University | Sept 2015 |
The LT Director, Prof. Iain Steele, and the Astronomer-in-Charge, Dr. Chris Copperwheat, report to and act as ex-officio members of the LTUG.
LT users are encouraged to contact members of the LTUG directly, or LT staff via the LT support and Phase-1 query emails (see the Contact Us link on the sidebar) with any comments or suggestions regarding the operation of the telescope.
We are extremely grateful to the following past members of the LTUG for their service: Prof Alan Fitzsimmons (Belfast), Prof. Keith Horne (St. Andrews), Prof. Nial Tanvir (Leicester).
LT Internal User Meeting
Members of staff at the LJMU Astrophysics Research Institute are also able to communicate their views on the performance of the LT via an internal User Meeting. This meeting occurs twice a year, usually just before the proposal deadline, and is currently chaired by Dr Matt Darnley.
Allocation of Telescope Time
Telescope time is allocated by a number of Time Allocation Groups (TAGs).
U.K. time is allocated by STFC's Panel for the Allocation of Telescope Time (PATT). The current chair of the PATT TAG is Prof. Mark Sullivan (Southampton); the other members of the TAG are Dr David Anderson (Keele) Dr Carolin Villforth (Bath) and Dr Klaas Wiersema (Leicester). Their terms of reference are described here.
Internal LJMU time is available to members of the LJMU Astrophysics Research Institute (ARI) through a separate allocation. Proposals are evaluated alongside PATT proposals by the PATT TAG, though time is allocated by the ARI board. The current LJMU representative on the PATT TAG is Dr David Bersier.
Spanish time is allocated by the Comision de Asignacion de Tiempos of the Instituto de Astrofísica de Canarias - the IAC CAT. The various CAT TAG members are listed here.
International time is available to non-UK and non-Spanish PIs through the OPTICON Trans-National Access programme, and through the International Scientific Committee (CCI).
For further details on these time allocation groups, and guidance on
how (and where) to apply for telescope time, please use the
Proposal Instructions link on the sidebar.
Last update: 26 Jan 2016 - RJS
