Rachel Osten

Interim Deputy Director, Space Telescope Science Institute

Dr. Osten has been a member of the STScI science staff since 2008 and is currently a Full Astronomer with Tenure. She has served in numerous roles in that time, most recently as Head of the Instruments Division. She is internationally recognized as an expert in the study of the dynamics of nearby stellar outer atmospheres. Dr. Osten served as the executive officer of the Decadal Survey on Astronomy and Astrophysics 2020 (Astro2020) and as a member of the 20-person steering committee, which developed a comprehensive research strategy for a decade of transformative science in space and on the ground. She co-chairs the National Academy of Science’s Committee on Astronomy & Astrophysics.