The Galaxy offers a rich laboratory for understanding a wide range of astrophysical issues in great detail, from near-field cosmology in understanding the (sub)structure of the dark matter halo, to the thermal dynamics and radiation transfer in the interstellar medium, to stellar evolution, and to dust formation and destruction.

• Dark Energy Survey (DES)
• Giant Magellan Telescope (GMT)
• Large Synoptic Survey Telescope (LSST)
• Magellan Telescopes (MT)
• South Pole Telescope (SPT)

Past projects: Combined Array for Research in Millimeter-wave Astronomy (CARMA); COSMUS; Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS); Sunyaev-Zeldovich Array (SZA); Very Energetic Radiation Imaging Telescope Array System (VERITAS)