Executive Vice President, AURA
Dr. Heidi B. Hammel received her undergraduate degree from MIT and her Ph.D. from the University of Hawaii. She is currently the Executive Vice President of AURA, a consortium that operates large astronomical observatories, including the Hubble Space Telescope, Gemini Observatory, and many more. Dr. Hammel primarily studies outer planets; she served on the imaging team for the Voyager 2 Neptune encounter, and has studied Uranus and Neptune extensively with Hubble, Keck, and other facilities. She is an Interdisciplinary Scientist for NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope, and plans to use her guaranteed observing time to study a diverse array of Solar System targets including the outer planets. She has been recognized for both her science and her work in public outreach, including the Sagan Medal and the San Francisco Exploratorium’s Public Understanding of Science Award. Asteroid “1981 EC20” was renamed 3530 Hammel in her honor.