IASFRome_StatusReport - INAF-IASF-Roma

More documents

Recommendations

Info

$The Comprehensive LaTeX Symbol List - CiteSeerX$

IASF Roma - STATUS REPORTfor the Visiting CommitteeRef: IASF-RM-VC-001/07DATA: 19 November 2007Page: 12/134studies and tests are carried out in collaboration with IASF Bologna and Politecnico diMilano and involve microstrip detectors, silicon drift chambers the recently inventedControlled Drift Detectors.• Balloon Experiments: the Artic OLIMPO is a balloon borne telescope, (PI S.Masi),featuring a 2.6 m diameter primary and a cryogenic receiver with 4 arrays of bolometerssensitive at 140, 220, 340 and 540 GHz, exploiting the technology successfully developedfor the BOOMERanG[2] experiment. The instrument is designed to fly on long durationcircumpolar flights and is aimed at measuring the cosmic microwave background in thedirection of rich clusters of galaxies (Sunyaev Zeldovich effect). Olimpo observations willimprove the forthcoming shallow survey of Planck in hundreds selected clusters in bothcelestial hemispheres, providing significantly higher resolution and sensitivity. This will allowthe study of cluster dynamics, evolution, composition, and the determination of cosmologicalparameters like the Hubble constant, the cosmological constant and the density parameterof baryonic matter. The first flight of the experiment will be in 2008, in the framework of theIPY,from the newly developed Svalbard Nobile-Amundsen facility in Longyearbyen. Thesame team is preparing a new flight of the BOOMERanG (PI P.de Bernardis) experiment tomeasure the polarization of high latitude interstellar dust, and is developing an extendedstratospheric balloon program. This includes payloads with a variety of sizes and goals. Thegroup has validated the circumpolar summer flights from Svalbard, and is validating polarnight flights from the same site.1.6 IASF Roma Strengths and WeaknessesThe IASF staff, including scientists, technologists, accountants, administrators etc, hasdemonstrated, in the last decades of joint work, a great strategic capability to propose and thenrealise scientific projects with high innovative content that had been considered worldwide ofoutstanding quality and able to provide top class science. This “vision” capability in term of newideas and advanced scientific programmes had resulted in a sort of “independence” of IASFfrom other research Institutes and Laboratories. This, in turn, has often made possible to us toreach leadership position in programmes involving large, world class, internationalcollaborations and consortia:IASF Roma is one of the Institute with higher number of Principal Investigators and Co-Investigators in international programmes lead by ESA, NASA and other Space Agenciesin the field of Astrophysics and Planetary Science.In our Institute are working staff members, and scientist on temporary contract, capable toimagine, design, develop, build, test and finally calibrate key instrumentation in the field of HighEnergy Astrophysics and Planetary Science and capable to solve outstanding scientific openproblems and questions. This challenging attitude resulted in the autonomous capability toanalyse and interpret the scientific data collected from space and ground Observatories andthen gain the above mentioned level of excellence at international level.The presence in the Institute of scientists oriented to theoretical studies in the field of stellarevolution, planetary science or relativistic astrophysics had provide in the past and is providingnow to the Institute an invaluable background to fully understand the actual scientific scenarioand focus the Institute effort toward a correct future strategic plan.The participation to challenging and complex international programmes has ensured to IASF acontinuous financial support from the Italian Space Agency (ASI) that resulted in a number of up12
IASF Roma - STATUS REPORTfor the Visiting CommitteeRef: IASF-RM-VC-001/07DATA: 19 November 2007Page: 13/134to date Facilities and Laboratories unique at Italian level that have been used recently in newspace programmes. Just as an example the INTEGRAL clean room, now hosting the IBIS FlightSpare and QM parts, has been used to integrate, test and calibrate part of the AGILE payloadbefore final integration, “in house”, i.e. without additional cost and full availability. The samesituation has happened for several Planetary Science instruments (from Rosetta to VenusExpress, Mars Express, etc) and for the OLIMPO cosmic background polarisation experimenthosted in view of the flight from the Artic balloon launching facility (Svalbard).So far the “strengths”. What about the “weaknesses”? The main problem arose from the agingof research staff and technologists due to the absence of an Italian/CNR and INAF policy forreplacement of positions made available from retired staff. This, in turn do not allow theinclusion of young, eventually, energetic scientists and engineers as staff member of theInstitute.The two main negative effects are the aging of the experienced staff, lack of training ofyoungster with loss of the scientific and technological know-how and the invaluable heritage dueto the long and wide experience built up in the past decades of collaborative efforts ininternational large and successful programmes. Conversely, the Italian Space Agency issupporting with temporary position on contract PIs and Institutes involved and/or committed tointernational recognized space programmes.13
Page 1 and 2: IASF Roma - STATUS REPORTfor the Vi
Page 11: IASF Roma - STATUS REPORTfor the Vi
Page 63 and 64:
IASF Roma - STATUS REPORTfor the Vi
Page 65 and 66:
Page 67 and 68:
Page 69 and 70:
Page 71 and 72:
Page 73 and 74:
Page 75 and 76:
Page 77 and 78:
Page 79 and 80:
Page 81 and 82:
Page 83 and 84:
Page 85 and 86:
Page 87 and 88:
Page 89 and 90:
Page 91 and 92:
Page 93 and 94:
Page 95 and 96:
Page 97 and 98:
Page 99 and 100:
Page 101 and 102:
Page 103 and 104:
Page 105 and 106:
Page 107 and 108:
Page 109 and 110:
Page 111 and 112:
Page 113 and 114:
Page 115 and 116:
Page 117 and 118:
Page 119 and 120:
Page 121 and 122:
Page 123 and 124:
Page 125 and 126:
Page 127 and 128:
Page 129 and 130:
Page 131 and 132:
Page 133 and 134:
show all

IASFRome_StatusReport - INAF-IASF-Roma

Create successful ePaper yourself

Delete template?

Save as template?