Cycle 5: Homeier – specutils work on Spectrum representation and I/O

[dhomeier]

Very early draft for proposed work, starting with implementation of a standardised SpectrumList loader/writer.

[AnaGabela]

Please react to this comment to vote on this proposal (👍, 👎, or no reaction for +0).

[bsipocz]

How does the spectrum DM part of this proposal work, and what's its relationship to the same content of other proposal(s)?

[dhomeier]

The items discussed at the recent spectroscopy meetings this refers to are implementation of a standardised output format and extending those I/O tools to multiple-spectrum containers like SpectrumList, though a detailed roadmap has yet to be created. I see SpectrumDM as a possible standard to ensure a consistent minimal set of metadata is saved, but not necessary with full IVOA compliance as the highest priority, and that seemed to be the general consensus in the meetings as well.
Since that part is also addressed by #498 and Kelle has the relevant experience, it might indeed make sense to take it out of the tasks here and leave the standard checks to her proposal. I still plan to do the work on the loaders and writers.

[kelle]

The Cycle 5 funding request process has been hugely successful! On the downside, that means our funds are severely oversubscribed. Even after the Finance Committee and SPOC have taken into consideration community feedback/voting and alignment with the roadmap, there are still more funding requests than we can afford in 2026.

We would like to stretch the budget as far as possible, and to fund as many activities as possible, while making sure the Project remains volunteer-driven. Hence, we would like to know if this project will still meet its deliverables if your minimum budget is reduced by 25%, 50%, or 100%. Or if there’s some other minimum, feel free to specify that instead.

As a reminder, there will be more funding for 2027 and we expect the Cycle 6 call for 2027 funding requests to begin in the Fall of 2026.

Thank you for your engagement and understanding as we continue to optimize our funding and budgeting processes and the balance of volunteer vs funded work!

(@dhomeier )

[dhomeier]

I would join telecons as time permits and start working on SpectrumList I/O with any amount of funding, but expect to be able to complete the SpectrumList writer with the ⅙ (45 hours) already given in the proposal.