Speaker
Description
The analysis of data is too often considered as a task that must inevitably accept and correct the problems related to the instrumentation.
Many FTEs are therefore dedicated to developing tools and tricks to mitigate these problems; and when these FTEs are not available the data are poorly used or not used at all.
In most cases, the instrumental problems can be solved using far less efforts and resources. Unfortunately, this very rarely occurs because of the traditionally radicated ways of thinking that separate the “instrumentation technologists” from the “astronomers”. I will give some practical examples in my talk.
A national laboratory for spectroscopy could be the ideal opportunity to create a constructive collaboration between the two groups. Instead, leaving instrumental technology out of the initiative could aggravate the separation.
