As this edition of the IRAM Newsletter will reach you just a few days before Christmas, and close to the end of 2005, I take the opportunity to wish all our readers a
On January 1st, 2006, Pierre COX will become the new IRAM Director, and Karl SCHUSTER the new Deputy Director. My special wishes go to them, and to all members of the IRAM staff. The tasks and the goals that lie ahead of them will require hard work, the continued support from the IRAM partner organizations, and from the entire community, but I am sure that the efforts will be very much worthwhile. There are lots of new things to be discovered with the improved instrumentation that is becoming available now or in the near future at the IRAM Observatories.
The outlook for (sub-) mm-radioastronomy in general is very promising, and IRAM has an important role to play in these future developments. I look back with gratitude to what was achieved during the last 16 years, and what has brought us here. As much as progress relies on the contributions of individual scientists and engineers, it also relies on successful team work, and I have always been impressed by, and appreciative of the wide range of talents, competences and experiences within the IRAM staff. My thanks go to each and every member of this team!
IRAM's development and success depend futhermore on good advice from both its Scientific Advisory Committee, and from its Programme Committee. Over the years, a significant fraction of the community has served in these functions, and I am grateful to the present and past members of these advisory groups.
IRAM is governed by its Executive Council in which representatives from the CNRS, the MPG, and the IGN decide on the programme and the funding. Throughout the years, the Council has been extremely supportive, including some very difficult times, and I am deeply grateful for this, both personally, and in the name of IRAM.