SDC User Group (SDC-UG)

The German SOFIA Science Working Group (GSSWG) has provided excellent service to the project as a scientific advisory body during the development and operation of SOFIA. In addition, as the “technical advocate” of the German astronomical community, it has collected wishes and requirements for the observatory and communicated them to the project management, thus acting as a link to the project sponsor DLR.

The SDC project has decided to continue this successful concept and has therefore established the SOFIA Data Center User Group (SDC-UG). This group consists of proven experts in the field of far-infrared astronomy and astronomical databases and will provide technical and scientific advice to the SDC project. In return, the SDC will report on its work and the status of the project at regular biannual meetings in order to align user requirements with the project's deliverables.

The SDC-UG is currently headed by Dr. Verena Wolf from TLS Tautenburg (Chair) and Dr. Guido Fuchs from the University of Kassel (Deputy Chair). The Council of German Observatories (RdS), which represents the astronomical community in Germany at the political level, has also appointed two members to the SDC-UG. The SDC will continue to be represented in the RdS by Prof. Dr. Alfred Krabbe as the successor organization to the DSI.

The first two meetings of the SDC-UG took place on March 13 and September 24, 2025, with the next meeting planned for March 2026.

The charter of the SDC-UG and its members can be found in the two linked documents.