What is ICE?

The Interferometry Center of Excellence is chartered to ensure the development and maintenance of a leading edge capability in optical and near-infrared interferometry, imaging, and astrometric technology.

Be the Laboratory's center of leadership, vision, and strategic and long-range planning for the institutional interferometry capabilities.
Enable and nurture world class science experiments in Extra-Solar System Exploration and in Astrophysics;
Develop, in concert with the line organizations, the required infrastructure necessary for the successful implementation of interferometry projects, including the acquisitions/development of key facilities, design tools and key personnel.
Serve as the focus for the Laboratory's technical interfaces with the external scientific and technological interferometry community. This includes hosting/sponsoring conferences, providing for technical exchanges, coordination of outreach and identifying and developing opportunities for alliances.
Develop and maintain, jointly with the ESD and the TAP Program Office, a long-range technology plan to support the expected ground and space projects.
Develop and maintain, jointly with the ESD and the program office, a long-range science investigation plan to exploit the new capabilities offered by optical interferometry.
Initiate when necessary, and otherwise participate in periodic scheduled reviews to ensure that the quality of technical proposals and project work in interferometry meets the necessary standards.
Initiate periodic peer reviews of work in interferometry performed by the Center to ensure that the quality of the Center meets the necessary standards.

The Jet Propulsion Laboratory has established internal Centers of Excellence in order to meet its NASA programmatic commitments, both now and in the future. The areas chosen for these Centers reflect NASA's desire for JPL to be the Center of Excellence in Deep Space Systems and JPL's emerging role in NASA's Origins Program.