A consortium of universities and institutes are preparing a plan to retain and reinvent the Dunn Solar Telescope and Sunspot facility after 2017.
We have had discussions with several interested partners, including NSF and NSO, and universities from the US and abroad. Our vision is to form a consortium to keep this important facility available for a combination of research, training, education, instrumentation, workshops, and public outreach. Other research directions, such as solar system studies, are also up for consideration.

We are now soliciting new and creative ideas and suggestions for these activities and we warmly invite anyone interested in joining to assist in any aspects of this endeavor to join our consortium. We invite input of your thoughts, questions, and input as we move forward.

Most importantly, we seek core partners that can commit to pursing avenues to provide a portion of the necessary financial resources to the long-term operation of the DST.

We are holding a 1-day workshop at Sunspot, NM on Wednesday, May 27 to discuss detailed plans. This is an open meeting and everyone is invited to attend.

Please direct inquiries to mcateer@nmsu.edu
James McAteer
New Mexico State University
on behalf of all the consortium partners.