Feb 2

Mountain and Hammel Selected as AAS Fellows

Matt Mountain (left) and Heidi Hammel (right), new AAS Fellows.

Matt Mountain (left) and Heidi Hammel (right), new AAS Fellows.

AURA congratulates Matt Mountain, AURA President, and Heidi Hammel, AURA Vice President for Science, for being selected as AAS Fellows for 2021.  AAS is recognizing fellows for original research and publication, innovative contributions to astronomical techniques or instrumentation, significant contributions to education and public outreach, and noteworthy service to astronomy and to the Society itself. 

Matt Mountain is being recognized for exceptional leadership enabling research across the electromagnetic spectrum, and for promoting the advance of astronomy and scientific inquiry to policy makers worldwide. Matt Mountain has been AURA President since 2015, is the Telescope Scientist for the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) and is a member of the JWST Science Working Group. Previously, he was Director of the Space Telescope Science Institute and prior to that led the construction of and directed Gemini Observatory. He received his Ph.D. in Astrophysics from Imperial College of Science and Technology, University of London. His research includes star formation, advanced infrared instrumentation, and capabilities of advanced telescopes. Mountain is a Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, the International Society for Optical Engineering, the Royal Astronomical Society and a member of the American Astronomical Society.

Heidi Hammel is being recognized for significant contributions to planetary science, in particular her work on Uranus, Neptune, and impacts upon Jupiter, and for leadership in science management. Heidi Hammel received her undergraduate degree from MIT and a Ph.D. in physics and astronomy from the University of Hawaii. After a post-doctoral position at JPL, where she was a member of the Imaging Science Team for the Voyager 2 Neptune Encounter, Hammel returned to MIT as a Principal Research Scientist in the Department of Earth, Atmospheric, and Planetary Sciences. She also spent many years with the Space Science Institute in Boulder, CO. Hammel has used Hubble frequently, and led the Hubble Team that investigated Jupiter’s atmospheric response to the impact of Comet Shoemaker-Levy 9 in 1994. She is an Interdisciplinary Scientist for the James Webb Space Telescope and Vice President of the Board of Directors of the Planetary Society.

Read the full list of Fellows on the AAS website