Dr. Sandell is preparing for the operational needs of ground operations, including the planned data processing and archiving systems, and the necessary software tools to be used for observation planning and flight planning. Dr. Sandell is also preparing for the upcoming critical tests required for telescope/airplane integration. He, along with the Project Scientist, will coordinate the performance tests that will evaluate the observatory before operations commence. Additionally, Dr. Sandell's personal research interests include studies of star formation, in both low and high mass star-forming region; young stars, accretion disks around these objects, and the interstellar chemistry of molecular clouds.