Access to the IRAM Telescopes for Scientists from EU Countries

IRAM is one of the participating institutes in the RadioNet Project that has been accepted by the European Commission for funding within the FP6 Programme. Details about this project can be found at http://www.radionet-eu.org . As part of the RadioNet Project, transnational access (TNA) to existing observing facilities is financially supported. Both IRAM Observatories, the 30m-telescope on Pico Veleta, Spain and the 6-element interferometer on the Plateau de Bure are included in the TNA programme. IRAM has committed 5% of the available observing at both observatories to this scheme and will receive corresponding funding. While so far IRAM was paying travel and lodging only for scientists from France, Germany and Spain, affiliated with the IRAM funding organisations, the new scheme allows us to pay the travel and lodging for scientists from all other EU countries. Included in this Newsletter are the new calls for proposals for observing time, for the summer period 2004, and we explicitly encourage applications under the new TNA scheme. All proposals will undergo the same evaluation process by the IRAM Programme Committee, and telescope time will be granted on the basis of scientific merit.

Michael GREWING