Summary of Second IVS Directing Board Meeting Held July 19, 1999, at Birmingham University, Birmingham, England Notes by N. Vandenberg, IVS Coordinating Center Director Attendees: G. Beutler, W. Cannon, S. Matsuzaka, T. Kondo, A. Whitney, N. Capitaine, E. Himwich, C. Ma, P. Tomasi, W. Schlueter, N. Vandenberg 1. Review and Reports Wolfgang Schlueter reviewed the actions from the first Board meeting. The IVS Steering Committee final report was submitted to CSTG. An IVS Coordinators Meeting was held on April 8. The proposal from Bordeaux Observatory to be an IVS member was received and approved. A paper about IVS was written and submitted for publication in the "Travaux de l'IAG". Nancy Vandenberg gave a report on Coordinating Center activities. The IVS web site has been set up since March 1; mirror sites at CRL (Japan) and BKG (Germany) were set up about one month later. The web site is being monitored by a web service. There are about 20 visitors per day. Usage is 30% Europe, 30% U.S., 15% Japan, and 25% other regions. A complete draft of the 1999 Annual Report was presented at the meeting. Reports were submitted by 95% of the IVS components. The book will be printed during August after final editing. Nancy Vandenberg and Chopo Ma gave a report on activities of the Acting Analysis Coordinator team (Eubanks, Ma, Vandenberg). An analysis solicitation was sent out with responses due April 15. Twelve proposals were received for a wide variety of activities. There are three "primary" Data Centers: Goddard, Paris, and Leipzig. The team coordinated with these centers to set up a data structure, mirror each other, and implement a script that checks incoming submitted files and puts them into the proper place in the data structure. The analysis solution description template was set up by the team and submissions were requested. Ed Himwich gave a report on Network Coordinator activities. Site visits were made recently to Fairbanks, Noto, Tsukuba, and Kashima. A web page is planned that will hold site visit reports for everyone to read and perhaps learn from the experiences. Performance standards will be presented at the next Board meeting. The basic team working on the standards includes Ed Himwich, Brian Corey, Georg Feil, and Yasuhiro Koyama. Web-based plots of performance during each session, derived from the station log files, were developed by the Coordinating Center based on the example of the DSN (JPL's Deep Space Network). A configuration template file for stations was developed by a small committee. The files will be available on the web for reference. Stations will be responsible to keep the files up to date. Performance metrics were developed as an aid in evaluation and troubleshooting. Alan Whitney gave the report of the Technology Coordinator. Future technical directions are VSI (VLBI Standard Interface), e-VLBI, and an organized access to technical documentation. VSI is being spearheaded by IVS and the GVWG. Major players are small groups in the U.S., Japan, and Canada. The VSI review committee will review the document and we hope to submit it to IVS and GVWG for approval by fall 1999. CRL and NAO have contributed their efforts; Canada and Japan are active participants. 2. Analysis Coordinator A proposal was received from Axel Nothnagel to be the IVS Analysis Coordinator. After a brief discussion, Axel Nothnagel was elected as IVS Analysis Coordinator, effective October 1. It was decided to modify the Terms of Reference to state that the Board may select a replacement for a member who leaves. The replacement will serve the remainder of the original term. The Board elected Chopo Ma to replace Axel as the Analysis and Data Centers representative on the Board. The position will be effective October 1. The IERS will be notified and asked to name a new representative to IVS. 3. Meetings It was agreed to have General Meetings every two years. In the years between there will be technical Chiefs meetings. Analysis meetings, when needed, will be held in conjunction with the Chiefs meetings. The first IVS General Meeting will be held at Kotzting town hall, near Wettzell during the week of February 21-25, 2000. The dates may be shifted one day earlier so that attendees can get cheaper air fares with a Saturday night stay. The organizing/program committee for the meeting includes Schlueter, Whitney, Himwich, Ma, Ebuanks, Vandenberg (the IVS Coordinators). Additional people will be added to help prepare and review the program. The Board decided that IVS cannot provide assistance with travel to its meetings, but IVS will be willing to provide a letter supporting the traveler. The agency hosting the meeting, in this case BKG, may decide to provide travel assistance. 4. Cooperation IGS Request: The Board discussed a draft letter that IGS plans to send to IVS, requesting that IVS sponsor a program to map the GPS satellites to determine their phase centers. This is neither cheap nor simple. A working group could be set up to study the feasibility, equipment, time required, and if it could be done with accuracy sufficient to make it worthwhile. When IVS receives the letter, we will suggest a working group consisting of Brian Corey, Ed Himwich, Tom Herring, and another IGS person to study the problem. Cooperation with astronomical groups: IVS needs to find ways to work with astronomers, but mapping quasars is not consistent with the idea of service. Having an Associate type of component would give astronomers a way to stay close to the geodetic issues. We don't expect a commitment to submit data or observing time, but we could collaborate on issues of mutual interest. Wayne Cannon sent a letter to various astronomy groups in which I made two main points: 1) astrometry studies could be helped by IVS and the geodetic community's work, 2) on the technical side the spearheading of VSI may help all VLBI groups. The Board decided to modify the Terms of Reference to add a description of "Associate Member". Relations with IAU: Nicole Capitaine, as the IAU representative on the Board, asked Ken Seidelman, President of the IAU Division 1 (Fundamental Astronomy), for his thoughts about the relation of IVS with IAU. He suggested using the Corresponding Members (listed in the Terms of Reference) as a means of communications with the IAU and the IAG through agendas and minutes from the Board meetings. He felt that there should be continuing cooperation and coordination between the IVS Board and IAU working groups on reference systems and astronomical constants, also IAG, and that the IERS and IVS need to function as a part of the structure of the IAU and IAG. The Board will discuss at its next meeting the relation of IVS with the relevant IAU Working Groups and Sub-Groups. 6. Terms of Reference Update A committee of Schlueter, Vandenberg, Ma, and Hase will make the requested revisions in the ToR and present them for review by the next Board meeting. 7 & 8. Logo and letterhead The Board examined and discussed in detail all 23 submitted logos in small, large, and letterhead versions. The Board decided that the logo needed an antenna, but not a specific one. The logo should not be complicated, so that anyone can understand its elements. The logo should not be so simple that its connection to IVS or VLBI is not clear. The final decision was to have a professional artist combine the logos 21 and 22. A t-shirt will be awarded to each person who submitted a logo. 9. Handout/brochure Wolfgang Schlueter presented a draft one-page IVS brochure and requested comments from Board members. The brochure will be ready by fall. 10. Other business The next Board meeting will be at Wettzell, on the day before the General Meeting starts (Feb 20).