The AUI Board of Trustees met in Arlington, VA on October 25-26, 2018. Following President Adam Cohen’s overview of AUI, and reports from the Board and Governance Committees, the Board elected Eric Wilcots and Christine Wilson to serve as the next Board Chair and Vice-Chair of the AUI Board of Trustees, and appointed new Trustees Frank G. Klotz, Lt Gen, USAF (Ret); David Tatel, Chief Justice, U.S. Court of Appeals, D.C. Circuit; Mark Kontos, Former CFO of Battelle and Mitre; and Derrick Pitts, Chief Astronomer & Planetarium Director for the Franklin Institute.

The CFO reported updates on AUI’s financial status, treasury, business processes, and compliance before the FY 2019 budget was approved by the Board. The Board heard NRAO updates including an overview of North American (NA) ALMA operations, GBO, and the reintroduction of the VLBA under the NRAO umbrella. The NRAO updates also featured recent news of a discovery at the VLA which challenges the current understanding of how neutron stars behave. The discovery of a powerful, fast-moving jet of material from a neutron star opens exciting new areas of research.

The Board received updates from Lewis-Burke as well as perspectives from the NSF before recognitions were presented. Maria Teresa Ruiz and Anneila Sargent were recognized for their years of service and guidance as members of the AUI Board. Roscoe Giles was recognized for his years of service as Board Chair and thanked for his continued service as a Trustee.

The Trustee dinner on Wednesday evening and the reception on Thursday offered the opportunity to socialize as well as to discuss business topics and meet with colleagues from the NSF, people from the various organizations that support AUI’s work, representatives from other organizations that support or collaborate on our current research portfolio, and individuals with whom AUI hopes to build collaborations or may be sponsors of future AUI research activities.

The second day of meetings featured several administrative and NRAO centric discussions as well as nascent developments with AUI Labs, an entity under the AUI umbrella that will facilitate the conduct and accounting for work that AUI grows outside of the NSF research centers. The discussion centered on the AUI Labs business plan, cyber security, microelectronics, and STEM education and engagement updates.