Leadership
A Message from the Board
AUI is an agile, dynamic and inclusive scientific facilities management organization, co-creating scientific value in partnership with the academic research community and the federal government. That is why we have chosen leaders in our Board of Trustees who are prominent research scientists, active users of AUI facilities, and members with expertise relevant to solving the nation’s toughest challenges. AUI is well positioned to serve the national and scientific interest as a neutral body within its relevant scientific communities; it is mission-centric rather than representing the special interests of any specific entity or group.
As the pioneer of the user facility model, we continue to lead in the creative development and management of partnerships, tools, and facilities to address challenges too large for any singular institution to own. As a research-focused, not-for-profit manager of scientific facilities for the benefit of the research community, AUI can adapt its strategy and reconfigure the range of skills represented by the members of its Board of Trustees as required to meet emerging challenges.
Numerous Nobel Prize winners, and members of the National Academies have served on the AUI Board of Trustees, bringing their problem-solving talents to unlock the mysteries of the universe and address national challenges. Throughout our history, we have continued to make scientific breakthroughs possible. Through the design, construction, and management of ALMA, BNL, VLA, and GBO we have enabled the imaging of a black hole event horizon, countless advancements in the field of physics and nuclear medicine, discovery of planetary disc formation, founding of interstellar organic chemistry, and discovery of binary pulsars.
With the support of our Board, AUI continues to make scientific breakthroughs possible, and solve challenges facing the underserved sectors who often lack the human and financial resources to meet managerial, operational, and cybersecurity challenges. The AUI Board is committed to realizing the broadest public benefits that flow from vigorous scientific research. As part of this commitment, AUI supports effective programs of education and public outreach, and seeks to help build a scientific enterprise that is broadly diverse and representative of our society.
Board of Trustees
Rachel Akeson
Senior Scientist, IPAC, California Institute of Technology, U.S.
Adam Cohen
President and CEO, AUI, U.S.; AUI Trustee, ex officio
Dean W. Currie
Vice President for Business and Finance (Retired), California Institute of Technology, U.S.
Kathy Flanagan
Senior Scientist, Space Telescope Science Institute (STScI), U.S.
Gabriela González
Boyd Professor of Physics, Louisiana State University, U.S.
William (Bill) Harris
AUI Vice Chair, Director of Innovation Advisory Partners, U.S.
David J. Helfand
Professor of Astronomy, Columbia University, U.S.
Tony Hey
Chief Data Scientist, Science and Technology Facilities Council, U.K.
Frank G. Klotz
Lieutenant General, U.S. Air Force (Retired)
Mark Kontos
Chief Financial Officer, The MITRE Corporation, Retired, U.S.
Derrick H. Pitts
Chief Astronomer and Planetarium Programs Director, The Franklin Institute, U.S.
Jay Marx
Former Executive Director, LIGO Laboratory, California Institute of Technology, U.S.
Meg Urry
Director, Yale Center for Astronomy and Astrophysics, U.S.
Eric M. Wilcots
Dean of the College of Letters & Science, University of Wisconsin-Madison, U.S.
Christine Wilson
AUI Chair, Professor of Physics & Astronomy, McMaster University, Canada-U.S.
Michael W. Wise
General and Scientific Director, SRON Netherlands Institute for Space Research
Rachel Akeson
Senior Scientist, IPAC, California Institute of Technology, U.S.
Adam Cohen
President and CEO, AUI, U.S.; AUI Trustee, ex officio
Dean W. Currie
Vice President for Business and Finance (Retired), California Institute of Technology, U.S.
Kathy Flanagan
Senior Scientist, Space Telescope Science Institute (STScI), U.S.
Gabriela González
Boyd Professor of Physics, Louisiana State University, U.S.
William (Bill) Harris
AUI Vice Chair, Director of Innovation Advisory Partners, U.S.
David J. Helfand
Professor of Astronomy, Columbia University, U.S.
Tony Hey
Chief Data Scientist, Science and Technology Facilities Council, U.K.
Frank G. Klotz
Lieutenant General, U.S. Air Force (Retired)
Mark Kontos
Chief Financial Officer, The MITRE Corporation, Retired, U.S.
Derrick H. Pitts
Chief Astronomer and Planetarium Programs Director, The Franklin Institute, U.S.
Jay Marx
Former Executive Director, LIGO Laboratory, California Institute of Technology, U.S.
Meg Urry
Director, Yale Center for Astronomy and Astrophysics, U.S.
Eric M. Wilcots
Dean of the College of Letters & Science, University of Wisconsin-Madison, U.S.
Christine Wilson
AUI Chair, Professor of Physics & Astronomy, McMaster University, Canada-U.S.
Michael W. Wise
General and Scientific Director, SRON Netherlands Institute for Space Research
Honorary Trustees
Malcolm R. Beasley
Theodore and Sydney Rosenberg Professor of Applied Physics, Emeritus, Stanford University
Barry Cooperman
Professor of Chemistry, University of Pennsylvania
Martha Haynes
Goldwin Smith Professor of Astronomy, Cornell University
Lyman A Page, Jr.
James S. McDonnell Distinguished University Professor of Physics, Princeton University
H. Warren Moos
Research Professor and Gerhard H. Dieke Professor Emeritus of Physics and Astronomy, Johns Hopkins University
Michael E. Fisher
Distinguished University Professor & Regents Professor, Institute for Physical Science & Technology, University of Maryland
Anneila I. Sargent
Ira S. Bowen Professor of Astronomy, California Institute of Technology
E. Scott Kirkpatrick
Professor, School of Engineering and Computer Science, Hebrew University of Jerusalem
Joseph H. Taylor, Jr.
James S. McDonnell Distinguished University Professor of Physics, Princeton University
Paul H. Gilbert
Parsons Brinkerhoff, Inc., Emeritus
Roger-Maurice Bonnet
International Space Science Institute, Switzerland
William J. Welch
Professor Emeritus, University of California, Berkeley
Eugene H. Levy
Andrew Hays Buchanan Professor of Astrophysics, Rice University
John J. Lively
Director of Administration and Finance (Retired), Carnegie Institution for Science, Washington, DC
James M. Moran
Donald H. Menzel Professor of Astrophysics, Harvard University, Senior Scientist, Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory
Roscoe Giles
Professor Giles is a professor in the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering at Boston University (BU).