image: This is the Arecibo Observatory in Puerto Rico. view more
Credit: NAIC Arecibo Observatory, a facility of the NSF
Richard Green, director of the National Science Foundation (NSF) Division of Astronomical Sciences, and Paul Shepson, director of the NSF Division of Atmospheric and Geospace Sciences, issued the following statement.
The National Science Foundation (NSF) is pleased to announce that beginning Feb. 22, the University of Central Florida (UCF) will start formal transition activities to take on the operations and management of NSF's Arecibo Observatory in Puerto Rico. NSF is currently negotiating the operations and management award with UCF.
With this award, UCF will fulfill NSF's preferred alternative for management and operations of the observatory. The university will take over formal management and execute a program of research and education consistent with the objectives and priorities of the scientific community. The university will provide support and technical personnel to manage the observatory, its research and educational activities.
The award duration is expected to run five years, with NSF contributions decreasing over time from the current level of approximately $8 million per year to approximately $2 million per year by the second half of Fiscal Year (FY) 2022.
This award ensures continued science-focused operations that maintain atmospheric, planetary and astronomical research, including radio observations of astronomical sources, planetary radar observations of solar system and near-Earth objects, and studies of Earth's atmosphere.
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