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 49 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 and Alternate (listed below) who have a voice in AURA matters. Together, the Member Representatives act upon membership applications, elect new members to AURA’s governing bodies, and serve on AURA committees.
Member Representatives attend the AURA Annual Meeting held every April In Tucson, Arizona to participate in elections, and discuss topics pertinent to AURA and the profession of astronomy.
Affiliation with a Member Institution is not required for receiving research time on the federally funded telescopes AURA manages. AURA’s Centers award telescope time through a merit-based process.
Membership policy, guidelines and process documents (PDFs):
Guidelines for International Members
AURA Member Institutions and Representatives
** denotes international affiliate member
Member Institution | Year | Member Representative | Alternate MR |
---|---|---|---|
Boston University | 1993 | Prof. Catherine Espaillat | Dr. JJ Hermes |
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. Kent Wallace | Dr. Arnold Burger |
Georgia State University | 2008 | Dr. Misty Bentz | Dr. Dan Cox |
Harvard University * | 1957 | Prof. Lisa Kewley | Prof. Edo Berger |
Indiana University * | 1957 | TBD | Dr. Rick Van Kooten |
Iowa State University | 1992 | Dr. Steven Kawaler | Dr. Jake Simon |
Johns Hopkins University | 1982 | Dr. Kevin Schlaufman | Dr. Timothy Heckman |
Keck Northeast Astronomy Consortium | 2018 | Prof. Seth Redfield | Prof. Colette Salyk |
Leibniz-Institut für Sonnenphysik (KIS) ** | 2016 | Prof. Hardi Peter | Dr. Jo Bruls |
Massachusetts Institute of Technology | 1981 | Assistant Prof. Andrew Vanderburg | Associate Prof. Anna Frebel |
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 | Dr. Van Romero |
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. Claudia Aguilera Gómez |
Princeton University | 1959 | Dr. Jenny Greene | Dr. Gaspar Bakos |
Rutgers University | 1999 | Prof. Saurabh Jha | Prof. Andrew Baker |
Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory | 2017 | Dr. Jack Steiner | Dr. Nancy S. Brickhouse |
Stanford University | 2012 | Dr. Roger Romani | Prof. Todd Hoeksema |
Stony Brook University | 1986 | Dr. Frederick Walter | Dr. Anja von der Linden |
Texas A&M University | 2014 | Dr. Nicholas Suntzeff | Dr. Darren DePoy |
The University of Texas at Austin | 1972 | TBD | Dr. Anita Cochran |
The University of Texas at San Antonio | 2019 | Dr. Angela Speck | Dr. Chris Packham |
Universidad de Chile ** | 1992 | Dr. Patricio M. Rojo | Dr. René A. Méndez |
University of Arizona | 1972 | TBA | Dr. Buell Jannuzi |
University of California at Berkeley | 2007 | Dr. Jessica Lu | Dr. Ryan Chornock |
University of California at Los Angeles | 2023 | Prof. Andrea Ghez | Prof. Tommaso Treu |
University of California at Santa Cruz * | 1957 | Prof. Puragra (Raja) Guha Thakurta | Prof. Connie Rockosi |
University of Chicago * | 1957 | Prof. Jacob Bean | Dr. Michael Gladders |
University of Colorado | 1977 | Associate Professor Kevin France | 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. Sean Johnson |
University of Minnesota | 1995 | Dr. Evan Skillman | Prof. Claudia Scarlata |
University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill | 1995 | Dr. Andrew Mann | 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 Utah | 2023 | Prof. Anil Chandra Seth | Prof. Yao-Yuan Mao |
University of Virginia | 2003 | Dr. Phil Arras | Dr. Yifan Zhou |
University of Washington | 1986 | Scott Anderson | Mario Juric |
University of Wisconsin * | 1957 | Dr. Robert Mathieu | Professor Sebastian Heinz |
Vanderbilt University | 2010 | Jessie Runnoe | Stephen Taylor |
Yale University | 1958 | Dr. Sarbani Basu | Dr. Nikhil Padmanabhan |