Page History

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• Q: How will you balance the needs of the locals with the needs of the external community for this conference?
  • A: The conference participants are selected using an algorithm ("entrofy" - the same one used for .Astronomy this year), which allows explicitly selecting a certain fraction of locals, while still balancing diversity in other criteria like gender or seniority.  This allows us to explicitly ensure it's a large enough fraction that STScI benefits while not so large that it turns into an all-STScI event.
• Q: Will the fact that the series has an external SOC make it not pay attention to the needs of STScI?
  • A: The existing SOC chair is aware that we have special requirements/expectations.  It shouldn't be thought of strictly as "Science" and "Local" - the SOC is more the "external" group.  They understand that we expect certain things in return for hosting, and it'll be the "LOC"'s job to communicate those things - sort of the "benefit" of an SOC without all the work...  Additionally, there is an SOC member who is also STScI staff (Nick Earl).
• Q: Is the "normally 5 days" a problem?
  • A: SMO says this is negotiable, dependent mainly on exactly which week (and the availability of SMO staff)
• Q: Will we be able to "try again" next year since it's a series?
  • A: Probably not for several years - the conference tries to spread itself out geographically, so it may not be back to the East Coast of the US for several years.

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