The Program Management Group (PMG) has a chain of tasks essential to the operation of ALMA. They are responsible for the day-to-day management of the execution of observations and monitoring the status of ALMA programs. In addition, they ensure data quality control and coordination of these activities with the staff of our observatory’s Regional Centers (ARCs).
“Our group is in charge of ensuring that the ALMA observing program is carried out with the quality standards offered to the community. We want to provide good data so scientists can understand the Universe,” says our Data Analyst, Kurt Plarre.
Composed of a Program Manager and eight Data Analysts, the group is supported by about thirty Astronomers on Duty (AoD) to run the ALMA observation in service mode in the ALMA Control rooms at the Operations Support Facility (OSF) and Santiago Central Offices (SCO).
This group’s work is critical, as they ensure that the observations are carried out with the highest possible quality and efficiency, collaborating with other teams that guarantee the instruments’ availability and correct use.
“This is part of the backbone of ALMA, which starts with the Call Proposal with thousands of research submissions and ends with fantastic images of the universe from the most prestigious science journals,” says our astronomer and part of PMG, Cristian López.
“PMG is crucial not only because it is mainly responsible for taking the data that justify the existence of the observatory, and all the human and economic effort that meant its construction, but also contributes to the monitoring of the proper functioning of the antennas, the analysis of key statistics of our operations, and the good calibration of the science data taken, among other essential activities, “delves our astronomer, Celia Verdugo.
“Our responsibility is not just to fulfill a KPI. Our real responsibility is to explore the Universe, to be the eyes of humanity looking into space,” adds Juan Cortés, PMG Manager and astronomer at our observatory.
What do you like most about exploring the Universe?
“I like being aware of the atmospheric conditions and how they affect operations. I find it fascinating to see how these conditions change over time and how the observatory must adapt to meet the established goals. The best part is that I can contribute by providing advance information to help coordinate the observations so that the data can be of the best possible quality,” says Priscilla Nowajewski, Astronomer and Climatologist.
“I like being in the control room where all the action happens. Being part of taking data to understand the Universe we live in better and using one of the best telescopes in the world is really motivating. I also really enjoy data analysis and working on the Data Science initiative, which has allowed me to learn a lot about databases, optimizations, and process automation”, says Celia Verdugo.
“Being in the group in charge of data acquisition for one of the largest telescopes in the world is a dream come true. We are constantly solving all kinds of problems, from communication to physics and astronomy. Studying nature from the control room is another level; it’s an adventure every day,” says Cristian López.
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