Matt Mountain

Matt Mountain
FRAS
Photo of Matt Mountain against a backdrop of clouds
Born
Charles Mattias Mountain
Alma materImperial College London (BSc, PhD)
AwardsGabriela Mistral Medal (2003)
Scientific career
FieldsAstronomy
Institutions
ThesisAstronomical Spectrometry In The Near-Infrared (1982)
Doctoral advisorM. J. Selby

Charles Mattias ("Matt") Mountain FRAS is currently the President[1] of the Association of Universities for Research in Astronomy (AURA) which designs, builds, and operates telescopes and observatories for the National Science Foundation (NSF) and the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA). AURA's NASA center is the Space Telescope Science Institute (STScI), responsible for the science mission for the Hubble Space Telescope, the science and operations for the James Webb Space Telescope, and the MAST data archive. AURA's NSF centers are Gemini Observatory, the National Optical Astronomy Observatory (NOAO), and the National Solar Observatory (NSO). Dr. Mountain and AURA are also responsible for the NSF construction projects: the Daniel K. Inouye Solar Telescope (DKIST) on Haleakalā, Hawaii and the Large Synoptic Survey Telescope (LSST) on Cerro Pachón in Chile.[2]

AURA is a nonprofit consortium[3] of 46 US Universities and 4 International affiliates formed in 1957 to enable the US Federal Government to provide forefront astronomical facilities to the entire US academic community. Today AURA has both a National and International mission to enable astronomical discovery and promote broad engagement in exploring the Universe. AURA has a staff of over 1,500 scientists, engineers and administrators with an annual operating budget of approximately $350M.

Prior to his position as President of AURA, Mountain served as the Space Telescope Science Institute (STScI) Director in Baltimore, Maryland between September 2005 and March 2015 [4][5][6] leading the institute during NASA's last servicing mission to the Hubble Space Telescope (SM4) in 2009, and through the re-formulation of the James Webb Space Telescope project in 2010. While at STScI he used his discretionary Hubble Telescope time for two major science undertakings, the Multi-Cycle Treasury, and the Frontier Fields Programs. Before joining STScI in 2005, Dr. Mountain was the Director of the international Gemini Observatory and led the team that designed, built, and brought into operation the two 8m Gemini telescopes on Mauna Kea, Hawaii, and Cerro Pachón, Chile.[7][8]

His research interests have included star formation, advanced infrared instrumentation, and the capabilities of advanced telescopes to study exo-planets. Dr. Mountain appeared in several documentaries and TV shows on telescopes and astronomy. He received his degree in Physics in 1979, and Ph.D. in Astrophysics in 1983 both from Imperial College of Science and Technology, University of London. Dr. Mountain has published over 100 research papers, articles, and reports and is a Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, the International Society for Optical Engineering (SPIE) and the Royal Astronomical Society and a member of the American Astronomical Society (AAS). Dr. Mountain is also the Telescope Scientist for NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope, and Chair of European Observatory's (ESO) Extremely Large Telescope (ELT) Management Advisory Committee.[9]

  1. ^ "Leadership".
  2. ^ "Centers".
  3. ^ "About".
  4. ^ STScI Director's website. Accessed October 11, 2013.
  5. ^ New Director Appointed at Space Telescope, STScI, HubbleSite NewsCenter, June 13, 2005.
  6. ^ Kanipe, Jeff. Space telescopes: Mountain at the top, Nature 437, pp. 610-611, September 29, 2005 | doi:10.1038/437610a
  7. ^ About the Director, STScI Director's website. Accessed October 11, 2013.
  8. ^ Gravitz, Lauren. Matt Mountain: A Clear Vision of the Future, GeminiFocus Issue 38, pp. 12-15, June 2009.
  9. ^ "ESO - EMAC members".