From: hanisch@stsci.edu (Bob Hanisch, ST ScI)
Subject: WGAS FITS Committee (WFC)
Reply-To: hanisch@stsci.edu
Organization: Space Telescope Science Institute, Baltimore MD
Date: Mon, 23 Nov 1992 15:34:32 GMT

  As chair of the AAS Working Group on Astronomical Software I have appointed a
standing committee under the WGAS that will be the formal voting authority on
issues related to the FITS standard.  As many WGAS members know, in the past
our votes on FITS issues have been rather informal, including those WGAS
members who were able to attend our meetings during the summer AAS meeting.
The WGAS FITS Committee is analogous to the European and Japanese FITS
Committees, both of which have a formal voting membership.

  It is my intention to include all interested parties in the discussion of
FITS issues via the FITS newsgroup, WGAS meetings, ad hoc committees on
specific issues (e.g., the world coordinate systems that are now being
discussed), BoF sessions at the ADASS conferences, etc.  However, in order to
assure that all major data producing and data archiving institutions are
represented when issues come to a vote, the WFC has been constituted.  I have
tried to make sure that everyone is properly represented, but I would
appreciate it if people would bring to my attention any major omissions or
oversights.

  I have appointed Don Wells of NRAO as chair of this committee, and he will
organize the voting for the FITS proposals that are now before us (binary
tables extension, image extension, and agreement on FITS on media other than
9-track magnetic tape).

  Voting will be carried out by e-mail.  Approval of any issue will require at
least 13 positive votes.  In practice we will strive to work out any
substantive disagreements so that votes can be unanimous.

  The WGAS FITS Committee membership is attached below.

Bob Hanisch
Chair, AAS Working Group on Astronomical Software
hanisch@stsci.edu


                   WGAS FITS Committee, November 1992

Don Wells, NRAO (Chair)			dwells@nrao.edu
Lee Brotzman, NSSDC 			brotzman@ndadsa.gsfc.nasa.gov
Dennis Crabtree, DAO/CADC		crabtree@dao.nrc.ca
Eric Greisen, NRAO			egreisen@nrao.edu
Bob Hanisch, ST ScI (ex officio)	hanisch@stsci.edu
Arne Henden, OSU			henden@mps.ohio-state.edu
William Lupton, Keck Obs.		wlupton@keck.hawaii.edu
Eric Mandel, SAO			eric@cfa.harvard.edu
Bob Narron, IPAC			bob@ipac.caltech.edu
Bill Pence, HEASARC			pence@tetra.gsfc.nasa.gov
Jeff Percival, U.Wis.			jwp@sal.wisc.edu
Skip Schaller, U.Ariz.			skip@as.arizona.edu
Barry Schlesinger, NASA FITS Office	bschlesinger@nssdca.gsfc.nasa.gov
Peter Teuben, U. Md.			teuben@astro.umd.edu
Doug Tody, NOAO				tody@noao.edu
Michael Van Steenberg 			mev@ndadsa.gsfc.nasa.gov
Archie Warnock, NSSDC			warnock@hypatia.gsfc.nasa.gov
Winifred Williams, NSO			wwilliams@noao.edu

Preben Grosbol, ESO, IAU (non-voting)	pgrosbol@eso.org

---
Robert J. Hanisch                       Tel. (410)338-4910   Fax. (410)338-5090
Space Telescope Science Institute       NSI: hanisch@stsci.edu [130.167.1.2]
3700 San Martin Drive                   DECNet: STSCIC::HANISCH [6549::] 
Baltimore, MD  21218  USA               Bitnet: hanisch@stsci
To all members of the FITS community: