A preliminary and informal meeting was hosted on March 16th and
17th at CFHT headquarters to discuss the concept of
`Ohana. Participants included members from CFHT, Keck, Gemini, IfA (UH),
NOAO and NASA. One of the goals of this meeting was to investigate if
collaborations would be possible or desirable amidst observatories that
have different priorities (both at the technical and operational level)
and very different funding modes and agencies. However, the exciting
and unique potential for science was recognized by all the
participants of the meeting and a cooperative program between institutes
and telescopes represented on the summit of Mauna Kea generated
sufficient enthusiasm to develop a step by step approach, including:
I. Simple demonstration of feasibility,
II. Highly focused science with pairs of telescopes,
III. Long term evolution towards an imaging array.
hereafter referred to as the three phase plan. A `OHANA committee was
also created, with the aim of coordinating and organizing its member
institutions in the planning and operations of `OHANA until a more formal
project structure was in place. Another objective of the `OHANA committee
was to communicate plans and activities to the astronomy community, and
to serve as a contact point for potential partners who may wish to
participate in `OHANA. Both IRTF and SUBARU were approached and responded
very positively to joining the Mauna Kea `OHANA. The initial
institutional participation to the `OHANA committee consisted of: