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Paper: An Automated System for Receiving KPNO Proposals by Electronic Mail
Volume: 101, Astronomical Data Analysis Software and Systems V
Page: 451
Authors: Bell, David J.; Biemesderfer, Christopher D.; Barnes, Jeannette; Massey, Phil
Abstract: An automated system has been developed for receiving observing proposals by electronic mail. \LaTeX\ forms are made available through e-mail and by FTP and are filled in by the investigators. The completed forms are then e-mailed to KPNO where they are automatically processed with the procmail utility and UNIX shell scripts. Ancillary documents such as PostScript figures and observing lists are also processed and stored with the proposals. The system has been in use at KPNO during the past four observing semesters and now processes several hundred documents each semester. A modified version of the software has also been in use at CTIO, with both observatories now receiving the vast majority of all proposals electronically. Although a few problems have occurred over this time period, they are clearly outweighed by the time-cost benefits of such an automated system.
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