Executive Committee (Chairs and At-Larges)

The EC process is very similar to the Discussion Panelist process, with a few additions, and a few extra deadlines. 

Prep Work & General Info

Preliminary GradingPre-MeetingDiscussion MeetingPost-Meeting
Before November 09, 2023November 09, 2023 - January 17, 2024January 17 - 29, 2024

January 29 - February 1, 2024 

(Galactic + ExoPlanets + SolarSystem Panels)

January 30 - February 2, 2024

(ExtraGalactic Panels)

February 5 - February 7, 2024

(Executive Committee)

February 7 - 9, 2024
Before getting started, familiarize yourself with the review process, JWST and its instruments, the types of proposals you will be reviewing, and who to ask for help!

During this phase, you will:

  • Be assigned as Primary Reviewer, Secondary Reviewer or Grader for a subset of the proposals assigned to the EC.
  • Check for and report additional conflicts of interest with your assigned proposals.
  • Read all of your assigned proposals.
  • Enter numerical scores as preliminary grades for all of your assigned proposals.

Each proposal will receive 8 grades. STScI will use the grades to rank and triage the panel so that only the top proposals are discussed in the panel meeting.

During this phase, you will:

  • Prepare for the EC meeting.
  • Review all EC proposals listed for discussion (especially those you did not read for preliminary grading).
  • Consider whether you wish to raise a triaged EC proposal for discussion.

We strongly encourage you to use the SPIRIT tool to enter notes summarizing the strengths and weaknesses for your primary/secondary assignments.

Panel Chairs will also:

  • Set a schedule for your topical panel and communicate this to the panel ahead of the meeting.

First, the topical panels meet for 4 days. During the meeting, you will:

  • Facilitate the panel discussions, if you are a Panel Chair.
  • Observe the panels, if you are an At-Large Member.
  • Discuss and observe discussions of Large Proposals by topical panels.

Then the EC meets for 3 days. You will:

  • Discuss EC proposals in turn and enter numerical scores as grades after each discussion.
  • Assess the final ranking of EC proposals for science balance.

During this phase, you will:

  • Write comments for every primary assignment (including triaged proposals).
  • Assist the primary reviewer with comments for every secondary assignment.
  • Read, check for consistency, and sign-off on comments for proposals in your topical panel.

Please remember to remove review materials from your computer after the review.

Learn more about:

Learn more about:

Useful topics from previous phases:

Learn more about:

Useful topics from previous phases:

Learn more about:

Useful topics from previous phases:


Learn more about:

Useful topics from previous phases:

Important Dates and Deadlines:

  • Wednesday October 25: JWST proposal deadline

Important Dates and Deadlines:

  • Monday November 6, 12pm-2pm EST: Discussion Panelists Orientation
  • Thursday November 9: SPG to release proposals and assignments
  • Thursday November 16: Deadline to check for and report any additional conflicts of interest
  • Friday January 5, 12pm-2pm: Chairs Orientation
  • Wednesday January 24: Deadline for preliminary grades for EC Proposals

Important Dates and Deadlines:

  • Friday January 26: SPG to release lists of which proposals will be discussed by the panels

Important Dates and Deadlines:

  • Monday January 29, 10am-4pm EST: Panel Meeting Day 1
  • Tuesday January 30, 10am-4pm EST: Panel Meeting Day 2
  • Wednesday January 31, 10am-4pm EST: Panel Meeting Day 3
  • Thursday February 1, 10am-4pm EST: Panel Meeting Day 4
  • Friday February 2, 10am-4pm EST: Panel Meeting Day 5
  • Friday February 5, 10am-4pm EST: EC Meeting Day 1
  • Tuesday February 6, 10am-4pm EST: EC Meeting Day 2
  • Wednesday February 7, 10am-4pm EST: EC Meeting Day 3

Important Dates and Deadlines:

  • Monday February 5: Deadline for Discussion proposal comments
  • Friday February 9: Deadline for EC sign-off of Discussion Panel comments and EC Comments
  • Monday February 12: Deadline for EC Chair sign-off of EC comments
  • Wednesday February 28: STScI releases Cycle 3 Science Program.



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