Abbreviations & Definitions

Employment Terms

These categories apply only to personnel who are SAO employees, not affiliates. Affiliate/non-employee personnel would include predoctoral/postdoctoral fellows, visiting students, interns, visiting scientists, and contractors.

• Temporary: employee appointments lasting less than 1 year

• Term-limited: employee appointments that will take place during a specified time period

• WAE: "when actually employed" - employees who perform duties on an ad-hoc / occasional basis and do not submit timesheets when not actively working.

Personnel Role Definitions

Roles define benefits and privilege eligibility and also many factors such as pay level, pay schedule, HR processes, and more. Once a CfA Google Account is created, personnel may consult the CfA SAO Scientific Appointments Chart for the most up to date information.

Commonly Used Terms & Abbreviations (non-Division/Department)

• AD = Associate Director, a senior level position similar to a department head

• BI = Background Investigation - a security check done on any personnel who will have computer systems or building access, with the exception of Harvard students who are exempt.

• CREATE = "CfA Research Experiences in Astronomy, Technology, and Engineering", a CfA REU program geared toward increasing underrepresented group participation in STEM

• DA = Division Administrator, the lead administrative contact for a specific division, generally responsible for creating the SDF record for new hires/affiliates, arranging desk space, etc. Some divisions have additional administrative personnel who assist with these processes.

• Duty Station = The location in which an employee regularly works and is paid. Employees who do not live in the immediate vicinity of their duty station (e.g. parts of Maine but working in Cambridge, MA) who also do not maintain an onsite presence of at least 2 days per pay period will be classified as being in the pay locality of their home, not their work station.

• EAR = Export Administration Regulations - governmental policies regarding the sharing of goods, software, and technology with foreign nationals and groups.

• ECR = Early Career Researcher, typically used to refer to academic/research focused non-employees who are not contractors, including interns, visiting students/scientists, predoctoral and postdoctoral fellows, etc.

• EPMS = Electronic Performance Management System, the system used to conduct annual and mid-cycle review for employees only.

• ERP = Enterprise Resource Planning, the group of programs including PeopleSoft that automate many SI (and therefore SAO) functions - the ERP help group can assist in the event of technical difficulties.

• ITAR = International Traffic in Arms Regulations, U.S. governmental policies regarding the import and export of defense products.

• OAAI = Office of Academic Appointments and Internships, the SI office that coordinates central management and administration for internships, fellowships, and research associates across SI’s museums and centers. Please note that SAO has an ECR coordinator who is responsible for the local management of these roles, and many ECRs will have limited interaction with OAAI.

• OGC = Office of the General Counsel, the in-house office that provides legal services to the Smithsonian.

• PAEC = Professional Accomplishments Evaluation Committee, the group that reviews promotional requests and completes scheduled cycle reviews for scientific personnel

• PAP = Performance Appraisal Plan, the criteria by which employees are evaluated, using the EPMS system, during mid-cycle and annual reviews. Non-employees are not evaluated using EPMS or a PAP

• REU = "Research Experience for Undergraduates", 2 summer internship programs at the CfA

• SD = Smithsonian Directive, official policies of the Smithsonian that must be followed.

• SDF = Staff Database, the electronic system used by CfA division administrative personnel to record / maintain records of affiliated personnel. Separate from PeopleSoft systems which are only accessible by HR and financial personnel. 

• SI = Smithsonian Institution, the parent organization to the Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory

• WAE = “When actually employed” A designation for employees who report hours only when actually working who typically do not follow set schedules or standardized # of hours per week.

CfA Division / Department / Project Abbreviations

• AMP = Atomic and Molecular Physics, a scientific division at the CfA

• BFS = Budget and Financial Analysis, an overhead department of SAO

• BusOps = Business Operations Services, the SAO division responsible for payroll, travel, accounts payable, and more. BOS approves the stipend sheets for ECRs.

• CE = Central Engineering, a division of the CfA

• CXC = Chandra X-ray Center, a flagship observatory managed by the HEA division at the CfA

• FLWO = Fred Lawrence Whipple Observatory, a CfA facility located in Arizona

• HEA = High Energy Astrophysics, a scientific division at the CfA

• ITS = Information Technology Services, the group within SAO responsible for computer hardware and accounts. For SAO employees and affiliates meeting with / otherwise contacting ITS will be a crucial step of the first day / week of affiliation.

• OIR = Optical and Infrared Astronomy, a scientific division at the CfA

• PCP = Procurement, Contracts & Property, an overhead department of SAO

• RAS = Research Administrative Services (RAS), an overhead department of SAO

• RG = Radio and Geoastronomy, a scientific division at the CfA

• SMA = Submillimeter Array, a flagship observatory of the CfA located in Hawaii

• SSP = Solar, Stellar, & Planetary, a scientific division at the CfA

• TA = Theoretical Astrophysics, a scientific division at the CfA