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Monday, May 2, 2022

Controversy? What Controversy? New TMT Director

Despite all the controversy surrounding the proposed Thirty-Meter Telescope (TMT) for Mauna Kea, Hawaii in which UC has an interest, elements of the project keep moving along, at least organizationally, the politics in Hawaii notwithstanding.*  See below:

Thirty Meter Telescope Project Has Named New Executive Director

April 27, 2022, Hawaii News

Robert P., chief program officer for science at the Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation. Kirshner and Claus Professor of Science Emeritus at Harvard University have been named TIO [TMT International Observatory] Executive Directors with effect from May 15, 2022. Dr. Kirshner is a respected scientist known for his discipline-defining work in the field of supernova explosions and their application to the measurement of the history of the universe. A graduate of Harvard College, Kirshner earned his Ph.D. in Astronomy from Caltech. He worked as a postdoctoral scholar at Kitt Peak National Observatory and then for 9 years on the faculty at the University of Michigan before moving on to Harvard, where he served 31 years on the faculty. “We are excited and fortunate that Robert Kirshner has joined this effort at a crucial time,” said TIO Board Chairman Henry Yang. “At Michigan, at Harvard, and at the Moore Foundation, he has demonstrated vision, commitment, and success in enabling the advancement of science to advance human understanding. He will be a wonderful ally and a thinking force for good, who respect the culture and people of Hawaii.”

“I am not taking this job because it is easy. I am taking this job because it demands everything I can bring into it,” said Robert P. Kirshner. “In the community of faith near TIO There is an opportunity to build a world-leading telescope. We have a tough road ahead and I’m looking forward to getting started.” Dr. Kirshner is a member of the National Academy of Sciences, the American Philosophical Society, and other scholarly societies. He has served as president of the American Astronomical Society and received the National Academy’s James Craig Watson Medal for Outstanding Contribution to Astronomy. He was recognized as a Caltech Distinguished Alumnus in 2004. Dr. Kirshner will succeed Edward C. Stone, who retires from the Thirty Meter Telescope project on May 15. Dr. Stone has been associated with the TMT project for over 20 years, including the last eight TIOs as Executive Directors. In recognition of his dedicated leadership to the project, the TIO Board of Governors has named Stone as TIO’s founding director.

An internationally renowned physicist, Dr. Stone was inspired to enter the fields of planetary science and space exploration by the launch of Sputnik in 1957. He joined Caltech in 1967 and is the David Morrisrow Professor of Physics. Dr. Stone has served as a project scientist on the Voyager program since 1972 and as director of the Jet Propulsion Laboratory from 1991 to 2001. He has also served as vice chairman and chairman of the board of the California Association for Research in Astronomy. , which operates the WM Keck Observatory and is currently the director of the WM Keck Foundation.

Dr. Stone is a member of both the National Academy of Sciences and the American Philosophical Society. He was recently elected as an honorary member of the Japan Academy. Dr. Stone has been honored with several awards, including the National Medal of Science, the Shaw Prize in Astronomy, the NASA Distinguished Service Medal, and the Benjamin Franklin Medal in Physics. “Ed’s steady leadership has guided the TMT project to the number one ranking in the National Academy of Sciences’ Decadal Survey on Astronomy and Astrophysics 2020 and its future success,” said TIO Board Chairman Henry Yang. “We and future generations are indebted to him for his selfless service and visionary leadership.”

Source: https://darik.news/hawaii/thirty-meter-telescope-project-named-new-executive-director/202204561394.html.

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*https://uclafacultyassociation.blogspot.com/2022/04/tmt-issues-seem-linked-to-other_13.html.

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