AURA Committees

Committee Charter (pdf)

Kimberly Andrews Espy

University of Texas at San Antonio

Caroline Garcia

University of Arizona 

Gregory L. Geoffroy

Iowa State University

Elizabeth Hoffman (Vice Chair) 

Iowa State University

Barbara Lam (ex officio) 

AURA

Duc Ma

University of Arizona

Warren Madden (Chair) 

Iowa State University 

Peter Schiffer

Yale University 

Composition and Roles

The members of the AURA Board of Directors are ultimately responsible for the operation of AURA and the astronomical research Centers that it manages. The Board of Directors has and may exercise all of the powers of AURA and shall have charge, management, and control of the business and affairs of AURA. They approve (or delegate authority for approval of) AURA program plans, budget, and long-range plans, including those of the astronomical research Centers. They act as trustees for the mission of AURA, the efficient operation of the astronomical research Centers and the advancement of the astronomical sciences. As trustees, they bring to bear the perspectives of the astronomical community in general and of the university community in particular the Board’s oversight of the Centers. As individuals, the Board members work with the President and Corporate staff in dealing with the funding agencies and the AURA-managed Centers. As representatives of AURA at their home institutions, Board members gain understanding and support for the national centers among their colleagues and administrators.

Andrew Baker

Rutgers University

Elizabeth Barton

Infiniscape Incorporated

Karen Bjorkman

University of Toledo

Elizabeth Cantwell

University of Arizona

James Crocker (Vice Chair)

Lockheed Martin retired

Roger Davies

University of Oxford

Megan Donahue

Michigan State University

Kimberly Andrews Espy

University of Texas at San Antonio

Maura Hagan (Chair)

Utah State University retired

Jeff Hall

Lowell Observatory

Todd Hoeksema

W.W. Hansen Experimental Physics Laboratory
Stanford University

Matt Mountain (ex officio)

AURA

Sally Oey

University of Michigan

Mark Phillips

Las Campanas Observatory
Carnegie Observatories

David Reitze

LIGO Laboratory
California Institute of Technology

Maria Teresa Ruiz

Departamento de Astronomia
Universidad de Chile

 James H. Yeck

Brookhaven National Laboratory
University of Wisconsin-Madison

Council Charter (pdf)

The AMCR provides oversight and advocacy for the management of the Vera C. Rubin Observatory.

Daniel Akerib (ex officio)

Particle Physics & Astronomy
Stanford University

Tulika Bose

Univ Wisconsin Madison

Brenna Flaugher

Fermilab

Matthew Graham

California Institute of Technology

 Paulina Lira

University de Chile

Allison Lung

Thomas Jefferson National Accelerator Facility

David MacFarlane

Particle Physics and Astrophysics
SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory

Lucas Macri

Texas A&M University

Rachel Mandelbaum

Carnegie Mellon

Patrick McCarthy (ex officio)

NSF’s NOIRLab

Joe McMullin (Vice Chair)

Square Kilometre Array Organisation

Matt Mountain (ex officio)

AURA

Alex Szalay

Physics and Astronomy, Computer Science
The Johns Hopkins University

Michael Wood-Vasey

University of Pittsburgh

James Yeck (Chair)

University of Wisconsin
Brookhaven National Laboratory

Council Charter (pdf)

The NMOC and each of its members are trustees and advocates to the AURA Board for the mission of NSF’s National Optical-Infrared Astronomy Research Laboratory. The NMOC provides stewardship and management oversight of NSF’s NOIRLab and gives support and advice to AURA on important policy and management matters.

Roberto Abraham

University of Toronto

Rebecca Bernstein (Vice-Chair)

Carnegie Observatories
Giant Magellan Telescope Organization

Marcio Catelan

Universidad Catolica de Chile

Kelle Cruz

Hunter College

Francisco Forster

Universidad de Chile
Millennium Institute for Astrophysics

Jennifer Marshall

Texas A&M University

Robert Martin

Institute of the American Indian Arts

Patricia McBride

Particle Physics Division
Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory

Matt Mountain (ex officio)

AURA

Jim Oschmann

Retired

David Reitze (Chair)

LIGO Laboratory
California Institute of Technology

Lisa Storrie-Lombardi

Las Cumbres Observatory

John Troeltzsch

Ball Aerospace & Technologies Corporation

Daniela Calzetti

University of Massachusetts Amherst

Alberto Conti

Ball Aerospace

Sarah Gibson

UCAR

David Silva

University of Texas at San Antonio

Michael Zwick

Rutgers

Council Charter (pdf)

The SOC provides oversight for the National Solar Observatory (NSO).

Doug Biesecker

National Oceanic and Atmosphere Administration

Emily CoBabe-Ammann

University of Colorado at Boulder

Jeff Hall (Chair)

Lowell Observatory

Feng-Chuan Liu

TMT International Observatory

Dale Gary

New Jersey Institute of Technology

James Mason

Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Lab

Matt Mountain (ex officio)

AURA

Kathy Reeves

CFA Harvard

Alan Tokunaga

University of Hawaiʻi

Saku Tsuneta

National Astronomical Observatory of Japan

Astrid Veronig

University of Graz

Christine Wiedinmyer

(Vice Chair)

University of Colorado at Boulder

Council Charter (pdf)

STIC provides oversight and advocacy for the Space Telescope Science Institute (STScI).

James Bullock

University of California Irvine

Elizabeth Cantwell (Chair)

University of Arizona

James Green

Astrophysical & Planetary Sciences
University of Colorado

Joan Higginbotham

Joan Higginbotham AdAstra, LLC

Bruce Macintosh

Stanford University

Matt Mountain (ex officio)

AURA

Sue Porterfield

Johns Hopkins University

Willie Rockward (Vice Chair)

Morgan State University

Ellen Stofan

Smithsonian Institution

Jessica Werk

University of Washington