Standing Committee Meeting Report PASSCAL

March 2020

Attendees: 
Committee Members Present: Beatrice Magnani (chair), Lee Liberty, Marianne Karplus, Zach Eilon, Wes Thelen, Rob Evans, Paul Winberry (also Polar ex-officio), Eric Sandvol (remote)
Ex Officio Members:   Ninfa Bennington (ex-officio EMAC chair)
Board Liaisons:  Susan Schwartz (PASSCAL Board Liaison – remote), Rick Aster (Board Liaison Chair), Sam Hansen (Polar Board Liaison – not present)
IRIS Staff and Observers:  Kent Anderson (IRIS-program manager), Bob Detrick (IRIS President), Bob Woodward (IRIS-IS Director), Jerry Carter (IRIS-DS Director), Justin Sweet (IRIS- scribe), Bruce Beaudoin (PASSCAL-NMT), Sue Bilek (NMT), Galen Kaip (SSF-UTEP), Andy Frassetto (IRIS-MT Project Lead)

Action Items

  1. (Anderson/Woodward) Provide a draft response to the IS review questions to the PASC by mid-April
  2. (Anderson/Beaudoin) Draft a recommendation for the PASC on the retirement of the Texans.  Share this with the SSFAC for their review and approval
  3. (Thelen, Beinnington, Karplus, Eilon) Review and revise the current SMP from a community perspective and present at the Fall PASC meeting
  4. (Frassetto/Bennington) Craft a statement announcing new capabilities that can be posted to PIC website
  5. (Anderson) Set up a meeting of the SSFAC to discuss NSF response to funding model and provide guidance on path forward.
  6. (Beaudoin/Eilon) Develop a standard station installation template to better capture consistent station characteristics.  Review at the fall meeting.
  7. (Carter) Provide information on uploading station installation sheets as part of the station metadata and to show how it can be shared through the MDA (metadata aggregator).
  8. (Kent) Once current instruments evaluations are complete and year-end closeout funds are identified, propose an amended spend plan to the PASC for their approval (shooting for early June for this).
  9. (Kent) Redraft “Best Practices” letter - changing emphasis to “Unacceptable Uses of PASSCAL equipment.  Once PASC approves - send to Board and NSF prior to bulk mail.

Meeting Objectives (7)

1. Review SAGE-II year 2 budget status
PASC received program status and related updates from the Program Manager, MT Manager, IS Director, DS Director and subawardees.  Budget status for yr-2 was reviewed and the potential positive variances were discussed with input from the PASC on spending priorities if these variance should persist.  Current spending plans for the MT instruments were also presented.

2. Approve SAGE-II year 3 budget
The proposed yr-3 budget was presented by the PM to the committee with highlights for the subaward budgets with impacts presented by the subawardees.  Minor variations were required from the proposed budgets were recommended..

3. Review Scope Management Plan
The scope management plan (SMP) was presented and reviewed.  There was significant discussion on the implementation of this plan and discussion of core facilities that should be prioritized.  There was a request to quantify scope reduction models to actual costs. 

4. Approve Instrument Use Policy
A revision to the PASSAL Instrument Use Policy was presented.  The existing policy is ~14 years old an have portions that need to be updated.  The changes were discussed and the PASC would like more time to consider the implications. 

5. Provide input on Strategic Planning
The PASC discussed the need and various opportunities for the community to provide input on the strategic vision for the facility.  This includes response to the Dear Colleague Letter for capability requirements for the next solicitation along with the planned Strategic Planning retreat planned for the day prior to the Board meeting (PASC Chair and Program Manager to attend).

6. Provide names for Sarah Kruse replacement on PASC
Several potential candidates were discussed to replace Sarah Kruse on the committee after her election to the IRIS Board.  Emphasis for a new member will be on a person with expertise in near surface geophysics.

7. Provide guidance on instrument procurements
Current trends on instrument usage was presented to the PASC for their review.  Based on these and other concerns for instrument needs and sustainability, the PM will revise the spending plan per PASC recommendations.

Other Business

  • Subcommittee reports from EMAC, PSTC, SSFAC and QAAC
  • Discussion of upcoming IRIS/UNAVCO IS review and community input process
  • Visit to UNAVCO to discuss commonalities and differences in IS implementation and governance rolls.
  • Review of action items and plans for next meeting with calls this summer, as necessary.