AURA was founded in 1957, with the encouragement of the National Science Foundation, by a group of U.S. universities with a common interest to create astronomical observing facilities that would be available for use by all qualified researchers from U.S. institutions and universities on the basis of scientific merit.
Today, there are 47 U.S. Member Institutions and 3 International Affiliate Members which comprise the Member Institutions of AURA. The President of each Member Institution designates a Member Representative who has a voice in AURA matters. Together, the Member Representatives act upon membership applications.
Membership policy, guidelines and process documents (PDFs):
Guidelines for International Members
AURA Member Institutions and Representatives
* denotes founding member
** denotes international affiliate member
** denotes international affiliate member
| Member Institution | Year | Member Representative | Alternate MR |
|---|---|---|---|
| Boston University | 1993 | Prof. Catherine Espaillat | Dr. Philip Muirhead |
| California Institute of Technology | 1972 | Dr. Lynne Hillenbrand | Dr. Andrew Howard |
| Carnegie Institution for Science | 1997 | Dr. Mark Phillips | Dr. John Mulchaey |
| Carnegie Mellon University | 2017 | Dr. Frederick Gilman | Prof. Matthew Walker |
| Cornell University | 2016 | Prof. James Lloyd | Prof. Dmitry Savransky |
| Fisk University | 2010 | Dr. Vann Newkirk | Dr. Arnold Burger |
| Georgia State University | 2008 | Dr. D. Michael Crenshaw | Dr. Dan Deocampo |
| Harvard University * | 1957 | Prof. Edo Berger | Prof. Charlie Conroy |
| Indiana University * | 1957 | Prof. Liese van Zee | Dr. Rick Van Kooten |
| Iowa State University | 1992 | Dr. Massimo Marengo | Dr. Surya Mallapragada |
| Johns Hopkins University | 1982 | Dr. Rosemary Wyse | Dr. Timothy Heckman |
| Keck Northeast Astronomy Consortium | 2018 | Prof. Seth Redfield | Prof. Colette Salyk |
| Leibniz-Institut für Sonnenphysik (KIS) ** | 2016 | Dr. Svetlana Berdyugina | Dr. Jo Bruls |
| Massachusetts Institute of Technology | 1981 | Prof. Richard Binzel | |
| Michigan State University | 1997 | Dr. Jay Strader | Dr. Mark Voit |
| Montana State University | 2005 | Dr. Dana Longcope | Dr. Jiong Qiu |
| New Jersey Institute of Technology | 2010 | Dr. Dale Gary | Prof. Andrew Gerrard |
| New Mexico Institute of Mining and Technology | 2018 | Dr. Michelle Creech-Eakman | |
| New Mexico State University | 1999 | Dr. Robert James McAteer | Dr. Chris Churchill |
| Ohio State University * | 1957 | Dr. Patrick Osmer | Dr. Smita Mathur |
| Pennsylvania State University | 1990 | Dr. Suvrath Mahadevan | Dr. Jason Wright |
| Pontificia Universidad Catolica de Chile ** | 1997 | Dr. Felipe Barrientos | Dr. Gaspar Galaz |
| Princeton University | 1959 | Dr. Jenny Greene | Dr. Gaspar Bakos |
| Rutgers University | 1999 | Prof. Andrew Baker | Dr. Saurabh Jha |
| Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory | 2017 | Dr. Nelson Caldwell | Mr. Joe Lendall |
| Stanford University | 2012 | Dr. Roger Romani | Dr. Bruce Macintosh |
| Stony Brook University | 1986 | Dr. Frederick Walter | Dr. Anja von der Linden |
| Texas A&M University | 2014 | Dr. Nicholas Suntzeff | Dr. Jerry Strawser |
| The University of Texas at Austin | 1972 | Dr. Anita Cochran | n/a |
| The University of Texas at San Antonio | 2019 | Dr. Angela Speck | Dr. Dave Silva |
| Universidad de Chile ** | 1992 | Dr. Maria Teresa Ruiz | Dr. Ricardo Muñoz |
| University of Arizona | 1972 | Dr. Philip Pinto | Dr. Buell Jannuzi |
| University of California at Berkeley | 2007 | Dr. Jessica Lu | Dr. Mariska Kriek |
| University of California at Santa Cruz * | 1957 | Prof. Puragra (Raja) Guha Thakurta | Dr. Claire Max |
| University of Chicago * | 1957 | Prof. Jacob Bean | Dr. Michael Gladders |
| University of Colorado | 1977 | Dr. John Bally | Prof. Julie Comerford |
| University of Florida | 2002 | Dr. Charles Telesco | Dr. David Norton |
| University of Hawaii | 1978 | Dr. Michael Liu | Dr. David Lonborg |
| University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign | 1980 | Dr. Joaquin Vieira | Dr. Gautham Narayan |
| University of Maryland | 1986 | Prof. Sylvain Veilleux | Prof. Andrew Harris |
| University of Michigan * | 1957 | Dr. Sally Oey | Dr. Douglas Richstone |
| University of Minnesota | 1995 | Dr. Evan Skillman | Prof. Claudia Scarlata |
| University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill | 1995 | Dr. Nicholas M. Law | Dr. Christopher Clemens |
| University of Pittsburgh | 2012 | Dr. Rachel Bezanson | Dr. Carles Badenes |
| University of Toledo | 2016 | S. Thomas Megeath | Dr. Karen Bjorkman |
| University of Virginia | 2003 | Dr. Craig Sarazin | Dr. Aaron Evans |
| University of Washington | 1986 | Scott Anderson | Dr. Julianne Dalcanton |
| University of Wisconsin * | 1957 | Dr. Robert Mathieu | Professor Sebastian Heinz |
| Vanderbilt University | 2010 | Jessie Runoe | Stephen Taylor |
| Yale University | 1958 | Dr. Sarbani Basu | Dr. Nikhil Padmanabhan |