Program: GN-2008A-Q-22

We are on the cusp of a revolution in massive star research triggered by 2MASS and Spitzer/GLIMPSE, and now is the ideal time to capitalize on these projects by performing the first survey of massive stars in young stellar clusters throughout the Galactic plane. A search of the 2MASS survey has produced over 450 newly-identified massive stellar cluster candidates in the Galactic plane, and here we will image the most promising candidates in broad and narrow band filters using Gemini(N)/NIRI. We will be complementing these observations with approved Spitzer and Chandra programmes, numerous approved and planned ground-based spectroscopic observations, and state-of-the-art modelling. We expect to substantially increase the numbers of massive stars known in the Galaxy, and ultimately this programme will address fundamental topics in astrophysics: the slope to the initial mass function (IMF) and an upper-limit to the masses of stars.