2.3 Who May Submit

Scientists of any nationality or affiliation may submit an HST proposal. Endorsement signatures are not required for Phase I observing proposals (unless required by the regulations of the proposing institution).

2.3.1 Principal Investigator and Co-Investigators

Each proposal must have only one Principal Investigator (PI). Any other individuals who are actively involved in the program should be listed as Co-Investigators (CoIs). The PI is responsible for the scientific and administrative conduct of the project, and is the formal contact for all communications with STScI.The proposal itself may be submitted through APT by either the PI or a Co-I.

Proposals by non-U.S. PIs that have one or more U.S. CoIs must designate one of the U.S. CoIs as the 'Administrative PI' (see Section 8.13). This person will have overall oversight and responsibility for the budget submissions of the U.S. CoIs in Phase II. Proposals with a U.S. PI have the option of designating a Contact Co-I, who will serve as the contact person for that proposal. The PI remains responsible for oversight of the proposal.

All proposals are reviewed without regard to the nationalities or affiliations of the investigators.

2.3.2 ESA Scientists

An agreement between NASA and ESA states that a minimum of 15% of HST observing time (on average over the lifetime of the HST project) will be allocated to scientists from ESA member states. It is anticipated that this requirement will continue to be satisfied via the normal selection process, as it has been in previous cycles. In order to monitor the allocation to scientists from ESA member states, affiliations of investigators with ESA member-state institutions should be identified as such in the proposal (see Section 8.12 and Section 8.13).

2.3.3 Student PIs

Observing proposals from student PIs will be considered. The proposal should indicate if the proposed research is part of a doctoral thesis. These proposals should be accompanied by a letter from the student's faculty advisor certifying that

• the student is qualified to conduct the observing program and data analysis;
• he or she is in good academic standing.

This letter from the advisor should be e-mailed before the deadline to student-pi@stsci.edu.

The faculty advisor's statement is not required in cases where a student is listed in the proposal as a CoI.