The JCMT is managed by the East Asian Observatory. The telescope is funded by the East Asian Observatory and a select number of institutions in the UK.
PI Eligibility
PIs of PI observing proposals to JCMT must be from any of the partner East Asian regions (China*, Japan, Taiwan, South Korea, Thailand), Indonesia, Malaysia, Vietnam or from the universities in the UK and Ireland that contribute to JCMT funding (see lists and definitions below). Otherwise, if you do not qualify by national or institutional affiliation as defined below then you cannot be the Principal Investigator on a JCMT observing proposal. Co-I status is not similarly restricted**. For details of how collaborative projects with investigators from more than one participating regions are allocated, please see here.
*anyone affiliated with the national observatories, and university groups that are directly funding their projects.
**Co-I status is not restricted for PI programs but are restricted for JCMT Large Programs.
The Expanding Partner Program
PIs from Malaysia, Vietnam, Indonesia, India, Brazil and Argentina are welcome to apply for a limited amount of time (<9 hours per program this time constraint is not limited in Grade 5 time) under the “Expanding Partner Program” – a program to encourage astronomers from new JCMT partners to make use of the JCMT.
*** Completion of any science program awarded time is not guaranteed. Approval reliant upon the program being technically feasible, without clashing with existing proprietary data. Data collection is dependent on weather/instrument/queue pressures with adjustments in line with recommendations by the TAC. Under the “Expanding Partner Program” priority will be given to new users of the JCMT.
Large Program Eligibility
At least three PIs are required to lead Large Programs undertaken at the JCMT. These PIs must be from at least three regions. Astronomers working at any EAO regional institute, any Canadian institute, and contributing UK and Ireland institutes are welcome to lead a Large Program. We warmly welcome Vietnam, Malaysia and Indonesian astronomers: these regions now have “observer” status with the JCMT.
Astronomers outside of the EAO regions or partner institutions cannot be members of the project team but can have access to data products – i.e. source catalogues at the PIs discretion.
Members of JCMT Large Programs who meet the initial eligibility requirements but later move to institutes not listed on this page are allowed to remain as a Co-I of a program for the remainder of the programs life span.
For the purpose of applying for observing time with JCMT, the definition of regional affiliation varies among the partner regions:
China
- Anyone affiliated with an institute in mainland China – funding for China comes from the National Astronomical Observatories of Chinese Academy of Sciences (NAOC)
Japan
- Anyone affiliated with an institute in Japan – funding for Japan comes from the National Astronomical Observatory of Japan (NAOJ)
Taiwan
- Anyone affiliated with an institute in Taiwan – funding from Taiwan comes from the Academia Sinica Institute of Astronomy and Astrophysics (ASIAA)
Thailand
- Anyone affiliated with an institute in Thailand – funding from Thailand comes from the National Astronomical Research Institute of Thailand (NARIT)
South Korea
- Anyone affiliated with an institute in South Korea – funding from South Korea comes from the Korea Astronomy and Space Science Institute (KASI)
Contributing UK & Ireland universities
Astronomers from UK and Irish institutions have the following access to the PI queue. Please also note that any astronomer from any institute listed below can also be a member of any Large Program or submit “Urgent” queue proposals.
Unlimited PI access (an unrestricted number of proposals per semester per institution):
- Cardiff University
- National University of Ireland Galway
- University of Central Lancashire
- University College London
- University of Edinburgh
- University of Hertfordshire
1 proposal may be submitted per semester per institution: