The governing Board of Directors for the California Association for Research in Astronomy’s (CARA) W. M. Keck Observatory represents the highest caliber of astronomy professionals. The governing board consists of directors from the University of California and the California Institute of Technology. In addition, NASA and the Keck Foundation each have liaisons to the board.
EDWARD C. STONE, CHAIR
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David Morrisroe Professor of Physics, California Institute of Technology
Edward C. Stone is the David Morrisroe Professor of Physics at the California Institute of Technology (Caltech) and Vice Provost for Special Projects. He is a former Director of the Jet Propulsion Laboratory (1991-2001), served as chair of Caltech's Division of Physics, Mathematics, and Astronomy (1983-88), and oversaw the development of the Keck Observatory as Vice President for Astronomical Facilities (1988-90) and Chair or Vice Chair the California Association for Research in Astronomy (1987 to date).
Since 1972, Stone has been the project scientist for the Voyager Mission at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory, coordinating the scientific study of Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, and Neptune and Voyager’s continuing exploration of the outer heliosphere and search for the edge of interstellar space. Following his first instrument on a Discoverer satellite in 1961, Stone has been a principal investigator on nine NASA spacecraft and a co-investigator on five other NASA missions for which he developed instruments for studying galactic cosmic rays, solar energetic particles, and planetary magnetospheres.
Stone is a member of the National Academy of Sciences and the American Philosophical Society, president of the International Academy of Astronautics, and a vice president of COSPAR, the Committee on Space Research. Among his awards and honors, Stone received the National Medal of Science from President Bush (1991), the Magellanic Premium from the American Philosophical Society, and Distinguished Service Medals from NASA. In 1996, asteroid (5841) was named after him, and in 2004 the Stone-Kelly Observatory in the Southeastern Iowa Observatory Complex was dedicated.
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GEORGE R. BLUMENTHAL, VICE CHAIR
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Chancellor, University of California, Santa Cruz
George Blumenthal is a distinguished theoretical astrophysicist and seasoned academic administrator. He earned his B.S. degree from the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee and his Ph.D. in physics from UC San Diego. He is the co-author of one of the leading astronomy textbooks, 21st Century Astronomy .
Before being appointed Chancellor of the University of California at Santa Cruz in 2007, Blumenthal served as faculty member there since 1972. With a research focus on theoretical astrophysics, his work spans subjects ranging from gamma ray bursts, compact X-ray sources, and active galactic nuclei to cosmology, and the origin of structure in the Universe. He helped lead the way in developing the "cold dark matter theory" of galaxy formation, which has over the last 20 years become the standard paradigm for how structure forms in the Universe.
In addition to his distinguished scholarship, Blumenthal has broad experience as an academic leader both at UC Santa Cruz and within the University of California system. He served as chair of the UC Academic Senate for the 2004-05 year. He was the faculty representative to the UC Regents from 2003 to 2005. He also chaired the UC Santa Cruz Division of the Academic Senate from 2001 to 2003, and twice previously chaired the campus's world-renowned Department of Astronomy and Astrophysics. He also served on the campus' Silicon Valley Initiative task force, which established the vision for UC Santa Cruz's engagement and activities in Silicon Valley.
He has been an aggressive champion of diversity, both as a member of the Regents' Study Group on Diversity (on which he serves as chair of the working group on diversity in graduate and professional schools) and in pushing a number of new campus initiatives, including the creation of the first-ever Chancellor's Advisory Council on Diversity.
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SHRINIVAS KULKARNI
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McArthur Professor of Astronomy and Planetary Science, California Institute of Technology
S. R. Kulkarni ("Shri") is the McArthur Professor of Astronomy and Planetary Science at the California Institute of Technology. Kulkarni’s research has focused on two areas: the death of stars and the search for extra-solar planets. He is currently the Director of the Caltech Optical Observatories and also serves as the Interdisciplinary Scientist for NASA's PlanetQuest mission. Kulkarni is member of the US National Academy of Sciences and Fellow of the Royal Society of London. His research has appeared in the prestigious Nature magazine over 50 times. Back
MICHAEL BOLTE
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Director of University of California Observatories/Lick Observatory
Michael Bolte is the Director of the University of California Observatories / Lick Observatory. He is Professor of Astronomy and Astrophysics at the University of California, Santa Cruz. Bolte has recently served as UC co-Chair of the Keck Observatory Science Steering Committee and Chair of the Thirty-Meter-Telescope Science Advisory Committee. He is a member of the Thirty-Meter-Telescope Board of Directors and has been a member of the CARA Board since 2006.
Bolte's research includes measuring the age of the Universe based on studies of ancient star clusters, the early chemical enrichment of the Galaxy, the nature of first-light objects and explosive nucleosynthesis.
He earned his B.S. in physics from the University of Central Florida, his M.S. in physics from Florida State University, and his Ph.D. in astronomy from the University of Washington. He was a Hubble Postdoctoral Fellow at UCSC before joining the faculty in 1993. UC Observatories is a multicampus research unit with headquarters at UC Santa Cruz. UCO/Lick also operates the Lick Observatory on Mt. Hamilton and the UCO Technical Labs at UCSC in California.
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ALPHONSO V. DIAZ
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Chancellor for Administration, University of California, Riverside
As Vice Chancellor for Administration at the University of California at Riverside, Alphonso Diaz is responsible for the management of all major capital improvement projects for this fast growing Campus as well as all of the Administrative functions associated with the conduct of its business including financial services and human resources. Before accepting appointment to this position in January 2006, Diaz was a contributor and leader in the United States Space program for four decades. He retired from NASA in October 2005.
From August 2004 to August 2005, Diaz served as NASA’s Associate Administrator for Science. In this appointed position, he was responsible for the management, direction, and oversight of NASA's science flight programs, mission studies, and technology development, in total about one-third of NASA’s total budget. In addition, in this capacity, Diaz was the designated Program Executive Officer for the Goddard Space Flight Center (GSFC), the Ames Research Center, and contract management of the Jet Propulsion Laboratory. From 1996 to 2004, Diaz was at Goddard Space Flight Center where he served as Deputy Director from 1996 to 1998 and as Center Director from 1998 to 2004. From 1989 to March 1996, Diaz served as Deputy Associate Administrator and Chief Engineer of the Office of Space Science (Code S) and its predecessor Office of Space Science and Applications (OSSA) at NASA Headquarters. Prior key positions with NASA included Assistant Associate Administrator for Programs within OSSA, and Director for Strategic Plans and Programs for Space Station. From 1988 to 1989, Diaz was the Division Vice President for Space and Aeronautics at General Electric Government Services, a GE business unit that provided space and aeronautics services to US government civilian space and aeronautics agencies. Diaz began his career at NASA’s Langley Research Center as a NASA Coop Student in 1964.
Mr. Diaz received four Presidential Rank Awards: three as Meritorious executive in 1990, 1995, and 2002 and one Distinguished Award in 1996. He also has received six NASA Medals, including an Exceptional Scientific Achievement Medal for his work on the Viking Project in 1976, a NASA Outstanding Leadership Medal in 1994 for his work on the Hubble Space Telescope First Servicing Mission, and the Distinguished Service Medal in 2005 for his leadership of agency wide activities in the wake of the Columbia Accident. Most recently Mr. Diaz has been named the recipient of the 2005 “Wernher Von Braun Space Flight Trophy” awarded to him by the National Space Club (Huntsville Alabama). In addition he was recognized by the Hispanic Engineer National Achievement Corporation (HENAAC) as the 2005 Hispanic Engineer of the Year at the Anaheim Convention Center in October. He also received the 2005 Lifetime Achievement Award from Hispanic Business, Inc. He is a Fellow and Trustee of the International Academy of Astronautics (IAA) and an Associate Fellow of the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA). He is a member of the Board of Governors for the Fellows Society of the MIT Sloan School of Management.
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THOMAS SOIFER
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Director, Spitzer Science Center, California Institute of Technology
Dr. Thomas Soifer is a Professor of Physics, the Deputy Chairman of the Division of Physics, Mathematics and Astronomy and the Director of the Spitzer Science Center. Dr. Soifer has been involved in infrared astronomy, both ground-based and space borne, for more than 40 years. He has served on the W. M. Keck Observatory Science Steering Committee for a total of 12 years, being co-chair of this committee for 7 years.
Soifer's research is centered on understanding the role of dusty, infrared luminous galaxies in the history of star formation in the universe. In this research he uses observations with the Spitzer Space Telescope and follow-on observations using the varied capabilities of the W.M. Keck Observatory. He has been the Co-Principal Investigator on two instruments in general use on the Keck telescopes, the Near Infrared Camera on the Keck 1 telescope and the Near Infrared Camera 2, which is deployed behind the Adaptive Optics system on the Keck 2 telescope.
Soifer received his B.S. degree in Physics from Caltech and his Ph.D. in astronomy from Cornell University. He has been on the Caltech faculty since 1978, and has been a Professor of Physics since 1989.
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Liaison to the Board
Zlatan Tsvetanov
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Program Scientist NASA
Dr. Zlatan Tsevtanov is the program scientist for the Galaxy Evolution Explorer program at NASA Headquarters, Washington, D.C. Tsvetanov received his bachelor's degree in physics and astronomy from the University of Sofia, Bulgaria, and a doctorate degree from Moscow State University, Russia. His research interests are in the area of active galactic nuclei and related phenomena and space instrumentation. Before joining NASA Headquarters Tsvetanov was an associate research professor at the Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, Md., and a member of the science team of the Advanced Camera for Surveys on the Hubble Space Telescope.
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