TASC MEETING
Minutes
September 29, 2006

Call to Order
Mike Duff called the meeting to order at 3:31pm. Members present were Marcus Stein, Ashley Berken, Patrick Eustis, Janet Woolman, Dr. Wayne Fetter and Michael Duff. Others in attendance were Dr. Steve Stinnett, Shannon Davis, Chad Thibodeaux and Brenda Gallow. Members absent were Dr. Todd Furman, Michael Graham and Nick Kohrs.

Minutes
Mike Duff accepted the September 15, 2006 minutes by acclamation.

CITO Update
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Old Business
Mike Duff introduced Dr. Steve Stinnett, who was present to talk about the observatory. Dr. Stinnett distributed an informational handout to the group outlining why the physics department would like to see the observatory improved and what it would mean to McNeese, as well as a basic proposal of what he/physics department is asking of TASC to contribute.

Dr. Stinnett gave a brief history of the observatory and stated the purchase of the telescope and dome would make McNeese ‘a premier institution in the state’. This telescope would be ‘the best in the state of Louisiana’.

Dr. Stinnett explained this is a multi-part project and they are seeking funding from several sources to not only replace the base of the telescope, but also replace the telescope, the dome and add new equipment.

The physics department is proposing to TASC the purchase of a 24 inch Ritchey-Chretien Telescope with a 16 ft dome. The present owner, Biosphere II Project, is offering the telescope and dome at a significant savings and will retool the telescope to “as new” conditions. The system will also carry a 1 year warranty like their new systems. The price (about $190,000) includes delivery and installation of the telescope, the telescope mount, and the dome.

Dr. Stinnett stated the benefit to TASC and the students would be the renaming of the observatory as the TASC Observatory, and as part of the physics department commitment, they would be holding public astronomy nights for the students, at least once or twice per month, due to already receiving commitments from several physics faculty members. In addition, the telescope would be made available on-line and on the web. This way it could be used as a teaching tool both in the classroom and outside of the classroom. Dr. Stinnett said this would also be a source of outreach for the community, holding astronomy nights for the public schools. Plus it is an outstanding recruiting tool for not only the local area but also the 5-parish area.

Finally, Dr. Stinnett said presently the observatory has been under the physics department where one or two people are trying to do something. Dr. Stinnett would like to see a university commitment; where an observatory committee could be set up to oversee the funding and planning for the observatory for each year.

Janet Woolman asked about the availability of the telescope to the students. How often, how many days, how much time is planned for access to viewing? Dr. Stinnett said if a small group of people (about 5 or 10) were interested, it would be a matter of contacting someone at the physics department to schedule time. Janet asked how complicated will it be if only 1 or 2 students are requesting time to view. Does it have to be a group? Will viewing only be available 1or 2 nights a month? Dr. Stinnett said it would be tough to justify having a faculty member go out there with just 1 person, but it would be better if 3 or 4 or 5 were requesting. He also stated any students who wanted to get involved in doing observations for research could contact the physics dept. and they would set-up an observational research project for them which would involve helping the students to operate the telescope, giving them easier access. Janet asked if the faculty in the physics program would be the ones to man the observatory. Dr. Stinnett replied faculty and trained students. Janet said she would like to have a commitment of hours that people could actually be out there, possibly one night a week. Dr. Stinnett said there is a commitment for 2 nights a month; but on a weekly basis, it will take some scheduling to see who can be out there and that will be tough. He stated part of the long term plans are to hire someone and part of their job would be to manage the telescope and be available for viewing times. Initially it will be difficult to have someone available more than twice a month. Dr. Stinnett wanted to stress that the commitment issues would not be on the physics department side. They are very enthusiastic about contributing and putting in time to make this work, not just in the short term, but also in the long term.

Mike Duff thanked Dr. Stinnett for coming to speak with the committee. Dr. Stinnett said he is available if the committee would like to go out and see what is at the observatory now.

The committee all agreed the idea of a telescope at McNeese has great potential for not only the university, but the state as well. Janet stated that she is concerned about the 2 nights a month viewing and Mike Duff said he felt sure if TASC approved funding that could be worked out. Mike also said he would like to go out and see the observatory with the committee. Chad Thibodeaux wondered about recurring costs. Dr. Fetter asked if anything was mentioned about damages due to the hurricane. Mike Duff responded there is a brief statement in the handout about hurricane damage. Dr. Fetter said if it is structure/equipment damage, there is a pool of money available from the federal government for damages caused by Hurricane Rita that could be used to cover some or all of the damages.

After further discussion by the committee, Dr. Fetter motioned to table the matter and request the development of a long-range plan both financially and what kind of ideas come with it, to give the committee a better understanding of a timeline and see where other available funding is coming from to determine if this is something TASC needs to jump on now or if this is something that is just starting to come together and TASC can wait until the physics department can get more detailed planning together. Marcus Stein seconded. The committee voted to approve and motion carried.

Mike Duff asked the committee if they wanted to schedule a field trip to the observatory at the next meeting. The committee agreed and a van will be scheduled.

New Business
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CoTASCO Update
Shannon Davis gave a brief update on the monitors. Creative Presentations has finished installation, tested to make sure all works, and got a display on the monitors. They will schedule another company to come in and work with Shannon and Chad Thibodeaux on the remote implementation. Shannon and Chad will work to get the TVs configured, and afterwards will be the Student Services training.

Marcus and Ashley both noticed the monitors and commented positively.

Shannon stated he spoke to Richard Rhoden about the Holbrook Expansion and Richard confirmed that currently the prices are the same—approx. 30% above normal costs. They may drop after the first of the year but only about 5% or 10%.

Adjournment
Meeting was adjourned at 4:17pm.