Chairmen of the Board...

Image Source: Giant Magellan Telescope Organization

Topics: Astronomy, Astrophysics, Diversity in Science, Research

In the spirit of full disclosure, my apologies for missing this last month. I happened upon it at UT Austin's website looking for something else completely. A happy find!

Pasadena, CA – November 16, 2016 – The Giant Magellan Telescope Organization (GMTO) today announced the appointment of Walter E. Massey, PhD, and Taft Armandroff, PhD, to the positions of Board Chair and Vice Chair, respectively. Continuing their involvement in new leadership capacities, Massey and Armandroff will guide the GMTO Board, overseeing the construction of the 24.5 meter Giant Magellan Telescope (GMT) in the Chilean Andes and working to complete the partnership of universities, research institutions and private donors who will contribute to the construction and operation of the GMT.

Poised to be the first of a new generation of extremely large telescopes, the GMT will be the largest optical telescope in the world when it comes online in 2022. The project is a distinguished collaboration of US institutions and international partners from Australia, Brazil and Korea. The telescope will be constructed at Las Campanas Observatory in Chile.

“With his exceptional leadership and wisdom Dr. Massey will guide the GMTO Board with a steady hand as the telescope moves through the construction phase,” said Nobel Laureate Prof. Brian Schmidt, Vice Chancellor of the Australian National University. “Dr. Massey has an outstanding record of enabling breakthrough science through stewardship of major research facilities, including the Laser Interferometer Gravitational-Wave Observatory (LIGO).”

Armandroff serves as the director of The University of Texas at Austin’s McDonald Observatory and as a Professor in the Department of Astronomy. Prior to this, Armandroff was Director of the W. M. Keck Observatory in Hawaii for eight years. During his leadership there, the two 10-meter Keck telescopes played a key role in many astronomical discoveries. Armandroff also worked as an astronomer and eventually Associate Director for 19 years at the National Optical Astronomy Observatory (NOAO) in Tucson, Ariz. After a successful year as GMTO Board Chair, he will be stepping into the Vice Chair position, where he will partner with Massey to lead the Board as it advances the GMT through construction.

McDonald Observatory, University of Texas at Austin:
Walter E. Massey and Taft Armandroff Selected to Lead Giant Magellan Telescope Board of Directors