Tips for writing ALMA
proposals
Patricio Sanhueza (NAOJ)

April 4, 2018

1

My experience with ALMA2

My experience with ALMA
2011

2012

2015

2016

2017

2011.0.00775.S
rejected

2012.1.01003.S
rejected

2015.1.01035.S
rejected

2016.1.00071.S
A

2017.1.00101.S
B

2015.1.01539.S
B

2016.1.01036.S
B

2017.1.00237.SC

2016.1.01246.S
B

2017.1.00716.S
B

2016.1.01345.S
C

2017.1.01355.L
A

2011.0.00866.S
rejected3My experience with ALMA
2011

2012

2015

2016

2017

2011.0.00775.S
rejected

2012.1.01003.S
rejected

2015.1.01035.S
rejected2016.1.00071.S
A

2017.1.00101.S
B

2011.0.00866.S
rejected•

ALMApostdoc
2015.1.01539.S 2016.1.01036.S
Bv

4

B

2017.1.00237.SC

2016.1.01246.S
B

2017.1.00716.S
B

2016.1.01345.S
C

2017.1.01355.LA

As a user, I would expect:•Proposals are selected for their scientific merit andpotential contribution to science•

Probably we all think our own proposals are great,
but there are too many great proposals…

•Competition is very high!

5My personal view of how to increase
your chances of obtaining ALMA time6My personal view of how to increase
your chances of obtaining ALMA time
1.- Start early (~2 months)- Thinking in the idea for a long time and discussing with collaborators about it(before writing the proposal) really helped me.
- This gave me time to be up to date with bibliography as well.

2.- Write the first draft as soon as you have a concrete idea (~1 month)- Thus, collaborators will read the proposal with time to give useful comments (aweek before the deadline most of comments will be superficial)- If you do Galactic astronomy, ask a friend that works on extragalactic
astronomy to read the proposal, and vice versa. The proposal needs to be clear
for astronomers not familiar with the topic, but a least one TAC member will be
an expert that will point out the very small details that you may miss…
7

My personal view of how to increase
your chances of obtaining ALMA time
1.- Start early (~2 months)- Thinking in the idea for a long time and discussing with collaborators about it(before writing the proposal) really helped me.
- This give me time to be up to date with bibliography as well.

2.- Write the first draft as soon as you have a concrete idea (~1 month)- Thus, collaborators will read the proposal with time to give useful comments (aweek before the deadline most of comments will be superficial)- If you do Galactic astronomy, ask a friend that works on extragalactic
astronomy to read the proposal, and vice versa. The proposal needs to be clear
for astronomers not familiar with the topic, but at least one TAC member will be
an expert that will point out the very small details that you may miss…
8My personal view of how to increase
your chances of obtaining ALMA time
3.- Clarity (English proficiency)- Very important problem if you are not an English native speaker. The
proposal needs to be a coherent story.
- Proposal with low quality English can give a bad impression… e.g., it
may looks like it was quickly written in the very last moment (even worst if
your proposal number is ~1500).
- If you cannot express yourself clearly, it may look you don't know about
the topic you are proposing.
- Reviewers have to read ~100 proposals! This means that 20 min per
proposal would results in a total of ~35 hrs, 5 hrs (no rest) per day during 7
days…if your proposal is unclear…. you will get a bad score (reviewers
may not like to read proposals twice to understand what you want to do).

9

My personal view of how to increase
your chances of obtaining ALMA time
4.- Direct Abstract- Hopefully short: what is the problem and how to solve it (not a long abstract thatcan sound as an introduction). The abstract will give the first (hopefully good)
impression to the referees.
5.- Introduction- Short introduction on the general topic and quickly go to the introduction
necessary to understand the scientific questions (scientific motivation). Delineate
here which have been the problems that keep the research questions unsolved.
- Make the scientific motivation clear by numbering 2-3 question that MUST BE
addressed later in the proposal. e.g.:a) Is the magnetic field dynamically important compared to turbulence and gravity?
Later in the proposal: The magnetic field strength will be estimated by using… andthe different energies will be compared by doing…
10

My personal view of how to increase
your chances of obtaining ALMA time
4.- Direct Abstract- Hopefully short: what is the problem and how to solve it (not a long abstract thatcan sound as an introduction). The abstract will give the first (hopefully good)
impression to the referees.
5.- Introduction- Short introduction on the general topic and quickly go to the introduction
necessary to understand the scientific questions (scientific motivation). Delineate
here which have been the problems that keep the research questions unsolved
and motivate how ALMA can overcome these problems.
- Make the scientific motivation clear by numbering 2-3 question that MUST BE
addressed later in the proposal. e.g.:a) Is the magnetic field dynamically important compared to turbulence and gravity?
Later in the proposal: The magnetic field strength will be estimated by using… andthe different energies will be compared by doing…
11

My personal view of how to increase
your chances of obtaining ALMA time
What I think is a good (focused) question:a) Is the magnetic field dynamically important compared to turbulence and gravity?
- Later in the proposal: The magnetic field strength will be estimated by using…
and the different energies will be compared by doing…

What I think would be a bad (vague) question:b.) What are the initial conditions of high-mass star formation?

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My personal view of how to increase
your chances of obtaining ALMA time
6.- Source selection strategy.
- One target? why one is enough? why 20? Survey? Clearly state the number oftargets. Justify why the selected sources and why the number of sources.
7.- Immediate objectives- What exactly will be done to answer the questions mentioned in the introduction- Demonstrate that the team is strong to carry out the project- What can be done in the case of negative results
8.- Proposed observations, strategy, and feasibility- Feasibility: running models and CASA simulations- Justify mosaic- Justify angular resolution- Justify ACA (7m and TP)- Justify maximum recoverable scale- Justify the sensitivity- Justify frequency setup (continuum and lines)- Why ALMA?

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My personal view of how to increase
your chances of obtaining ALMA time
6.- Source selection strategy.
- One target? why one is enough? why 20? Survey? Clearly state the number oftargets. Justify why the selected sources and why the number of sources.
7.- Immediate objectives- What exactly will be done to answer the questions mentioned in the introduction- Demonstrate that the team is strong to carry out the project- What can be done in the case of negative results
8.- Proposed observations, strategy, and feasibility- Feasibility: running models and CASA simulations- Justify mosaic- Justify angular resolution- Justify ACA (7m and TP)- Justify maximum recoverable scale- Justify the sensitivity- Justify frequency setup (continuum and lines)- Why ALMA?

14My personal view of how to increase
your chances of obtaining ALMA time
6.- Source selection strategy.
- One target? why one is enough? why 20? Survey? Clearly state the number oftargets. Justify why the selected sources and why the number of sources.
7.- Immediate objectives- What exactly will be done to answer the questions mentioned in the introduction- Demonstrate that the team is strong to carry out the project- What can be done in the case of negative results
8.- Proposed observations, strategy, and feasibility- Feasibility: running models and CASA simulations- Justify mosaic- Justify angular resolution- Justify ACA (7m and TP)- Justify maximum recoverable scale- Justify the sensitivity- Justify frequency setup (continuum and lines)- Why ALMA?

15

My personal view of how to increase
your chances of obtaining ALMA time
9.- Proposal style- Make the proposal as short as you can (including everything you need, ofcourse)- Use bold or underline text for key information and heading to organize ideas,e.g.:

16My personal view of how to increase
your chances of obtaining ALMA time
9.- Proposal style- Make the proposal as short as you can (including everything you need, ofcourse)- Use bold or underline text for key information and heading to organize ideas,e.g.:17Good luck!

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