New Hawaiian Telescope News

The Hawaiian telescope issue was one of the key discussion areas in the last Regents meeting.* The project - in which UC is a partner - remains stalled after construction was blocked be demonstrators. According to a news report, the NSF has stepped into the controversy:

The National Science Foundation has launched an informal outreach to Hawaii about possible funding efforts for the stalled Thirty Meter Telescope project. The effort by the nation’s top funder of basic research could lead to a huge influx of cash for the astronomy project on Mauna Kea with an estimated cost of $2.4 billion, The Honolulu Star-Advertiser reported Thursday. Funding efforts could also trigger a regulatory process adding two years or more to a construction timeline that is far behind schedule. The project recently announced the start of construction was delayed until spring.** ...

Funding approval would trigger the creation of a federal environmental impact statement and National Historic Preservation Act Section 106 consultation, a process of two years or more. “It will lead to very significant outreach, another opportunity to listen and learn and a renewed opportunity to seek solutions that are acceptable to all in Hawaii,” Michael Bolte, a University of California Santa Cruz astronomy professor and Thirty Meter Telescope board member, said last month...

Full story at https://www.hawaiinewsnow.com/2020/08/21/science-foundation-discusses-funding-thirty-meter-telescope/
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*You can hear the discussion at:
http://uclafacultyassociation.blogspot.com/2020/07/listen-to-morning-session-of-regents_31.html. See also http://uclafacultyassociation.blogspot.com/2020/07/telescope-info-for-regents-now-on-agenda.html.
**https://www.hawaiinewsnow.com/2020/08/21/science-foundation-discusses-funding-thirty-meter-telescope/