Abstract

Maximizing the Science Return from JWST: Seven Years of JSTAC Deliberations and Recommendations.

Garth Illingworth (UCSC)

The JWST Advisory Committee was constituted in 2009 to advise the STScI Director on how to optimize the scientific output of JWST, expressed most succinctly as "give advice to maximize the science return from JWST". The importance of maximizing the science return grew greatly when the ICRP report in 2010 resulted in a rescaling of the lifecycle cost to $8.8B. The public commitment to what is one of the highest cost science missions ever undertaken necessitated a careful evaluation to make JWST as scientifically productive as possible. JSTAC's deliberations and the resulting public letters have offered advice over a wide range of topics, some of which have generated considerable discussion beyond the committee! A number of JSTAC's key recommendations and their implications will be discussed, with consideration for their impact on the science programs being carried out by JWST.

Talk