Charles Mattias ("Matt") Mountain is currently the President of the

Association of Universities for Research in Astronomy The Association of Universities for Research in Astronomy (AURA) is a consortium of universities and other institutions that operates astronomical observatories and telescopes. Founded October 10, 1957, with the encouragement of the National Sc ...

(AURA) which designs, builds, and operates telescopes and observatories for the

National Science Foundation The U.S. National Science Foundation (NSF) is an Independent agencies of the United States government#Examples of independent agencies, independent agency of the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government that su ...

(NSF) and the

National Aeronautics and Space Administration The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA ) is an independent agency of the US federal government responsible for the United States's civil space program, aeronautics research and space research. Established in 1958, it su ...

(NASA). AURA's NASA center is the

Space Telescope Science Institute The Space Telescope Science Institute (STScI) is the science operations center for the Hubble Space Telescope (HST), science operations and mission operations center for the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST), and science operations center for the ...

(STScI), responsible for the science mission for the

Hubble Space Telescope The Hubble Space Telescope (HST or Hubble) is a space telescope that was launched into low Earth orbit in 1990 and remains in operation. It was not the Orbiting Solar Observatory, first space telescope, but it is one of the largest and most ...

, the science and operations for the

James Webb Space Telescope The James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) is a space telescope designed to conduct infrared astronomy. As the largest telescope in space, it is equipped with high-resolution and high-sensitivity instruments, allowing it to view objects too old, Lis ...

, and the MAST data archive. AURA's NSF centers are

Gemini Observatory The Gemini Observatory comprises two 8.1-metre (26.6 ft) telescopes, Gemini North and Gemini South, situated in Hawaii and Chile, respectively. These twin telescopes offer extensive coverage of the northern and southern skies and rank among ...

, the

National Optical Astronomy Observatory The National Optical Astronomy Observatory (NOAO) was the United States national observatory for ground-based nighttime ultraviolet-optical-infrared (OUVIR) astronomy. The National Science Foundation (NSF) funded NOAO to provide forefront astronom ...

(NOAO), and the

National Solar Observatory The National Solar Observatory (NSO) is a United States federally funded research and development center to advance the knowledge of the physics of the Sun. NSO studies the Sun both as an astronomical object and as the dominant external influen ...

(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 The Vera C. Rubin Observatory, formerly known as the Large Synoptic Survey Telescope (LSST), is an astronomy, astronomical observatory in Chile. Its main task will be carrying out a synoptic astronomical survey, the Legacy Survey of Space and Tim ...

(LSST) on Cerro Pachón in

Chile Chile, officially the Republic of Chile, is a country in western South America. It is the southernmost country in the world and the closest to Antarctica, stretching along a narrow strip of land between the Andes, Andes Mountains and the Paci ...

. AURA is a nonprofit consortium 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

(STScI) Director in

Baltimore, Maryland Baltimore is the List of municipalities in Maryland, most populous city in the U.S. state of Maryland. With a population of 585,708 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census and estimated at 568,271 in 2024, it is the List of United States ...

between September 2005 and March 2015 STScI Director's website
Accessed October 11, 2013.New Director Appointed at Space Telescope

STScI The Space Telescope Science Institute (STScI) is the science operations center for the Hubble Space Telescope (HST), science operations and mission operations center for the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST), and science operations center for the ...

, HubbleSite NewsCenter, June 13, 2005. 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

and led the team that designed, built, and brought into operation the two 8m Gemini telescopes on Mauna Kea, Hawaii, and Cerro Pachón, Chile.Gravitz, Lauren
Matt Mountain: A Clear Vision of the Future
GeminiFocus Issue 38, pp. 12-15, June 2009. 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 The University of London (UoL; abbreviated as Lond or more rarely Londin in Post-nominal letters, post-nominals) is a collegiate university, federal Public university, public research university located in London, England, United Kingdom. The ...

. 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 The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA ) is an independent agencies of the United States government, independent agency of the federal government of the United States, US federal government responsible for the United States ...

’s

, and Chair of European Observatory's (ESO) Extremely Large Telescope (ELT) Management Advisory Committee.

Education and career

Mountain earned a

Bachelor of Science A Bachelor of Science (BS, BSc, B.S., B.Sc., SB, or ScB; from the Latin ') is a bachelor's degree that is awarded for programs that generally last three to five years. The first university to admit a student to the degree of Bachelor of Scienc ...

degree in physics in 1978 and a

Ph.D. A Doctor of Philosophy (PhD, DPhil; or ) is a terminal degree that usually denotes the highest level of academic achievement in a given discipline and is awarded following a course of graduate study and original research. The name of the deg ...

in astronomy in 1983, both from the Imperial College of Science and Technology, London University. After earning his degrees, Mountain held a

Science and Engineering Research Council The Science and Engineering Research Council (SERC) and its predecessor the Science Research Council (SRC) were the UK agencies in charge of publicly funded scientific and engineering research activities, including astronomy, biotechnology and bi ...

(SERC) fellowship at Imperial College. Mountain later joined the staff of the Royal Observatory in Edinburgh, where he remained for seven years.Professional Background
STScI Director's website. Accessed October 11, 2013. At the Royal Observatory, Mountain's work involved observations of

star formation Star formation is the process by which dense regions within molecular clouds in interstellar space—sometimes referred to as "stellar nurseries" or "star-forming regions"—Jeans instability, collapse and form stars. As a branch of astronomy, sta ...

processes, and he led a team that designed and commissioned the CGS-4

infrared Infrared (IR; sometimes called infrared light) is electromagnetic radiation (EMR) with wavelengths longer than that of visible light but shorter than microwaves. The infrared spectral band begins with the waves that are just longer than those ...

array

spectrometer A spectrometer () is a scientific instrument used to separate and measure Spectrum, spectral components of a physical phenomenon. Spectrometer is a broad term often used to describe instruments that measure a continuous variable of a phenomeno ...

for the

United Kingdom Infrared Telescope The United Kingdom Infra-Red Telescope (UKIRT) is a 3.8 metre (150 inch) infrared reflecting telescope, the second largest dedicated infrared (1 to 30 micrometres) telescope in the world. It is located on Mauna Kea, Hawai'i as part of Mauna ...

in Hawaii. Mountain became project scientist for the Gemini 8-meter telescopes project in 1992, then was appointed director of the seven-nation Gemini project in 1994. Mountain led the team that designed, built, and commissioned the two 8-meter-diameter Gemini telescopes atop

Mauna Kea Mauna Kea (, ; abbreviation for ''Mauna a Wākea''); is a dormant Shield volcano, shield volcano on the Hawaii (island), island of Hawaii. Its peak is above sea level, making it the List of U.S. states by elevation, highest point in Hawaii a ...

in Hawaii and

Cerro Pachón Cerro Pachón is a mountain in central Chile, located east of the city of La Serena in the Coquimbo Region. The mountain is seismically active. It is the site of the 8.1 m Gemini South Telescope of the Gemini Observatory, the 4.1 m ...

in Chile. The book ''Giant Telescopes: Astronomical Ambitions and the Promise of Technology'' details the efforts involved in building the Gemini telescopes. At Gemini's helm for more than a decade, Mountain assumed responsibility for the creation of the Gemini Observatory, which included formulating, implementing, and running the operations and development programs for the two telescopes. Mountain also developed an

adaptive optics Adaptive optics (AO) is a technique of precisely deforming a mirror in order to compensate for light distortion. It is used in Astronomy, astronomical telescopes and laser communication systems to remove the effects of Astronomical seeing, atmo ...

group to help the Gemini telescopes remain at the forefront of observational infrared astronomy. In 2002, NASA appointed Mountain to the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) Science Working Group as the JWST telescope scientist. Mountain worked with the JWST project to downscale the telescope's

primary mirror A primary mirror (or primary) is the principal light-gathering surface (the objective) of a reflecting telescope. Description The primary mirror of a reflecting telescope is a spherical, parabolic, or hyperbolic shaped disks of polished ...

to an achievable diameter. He represented the science community on the Mirror Review Board, contributing to the selection of

beryllium Beryllium is a chemical element; it has Symbol (chemistry), symbol Be and atomic number 4. It is a steel-gray, hard, strong, lightweight and brittle alkaline earth metal. It is a divalent element that occurs naturally only in combination with ...

mirrors for the telescope. He co-chaired the Science Assessment Team in 2005 and was a member of the Test Assessment Team in 2010. Mountain continues to work with NASA, the JWST project, the JWST instrument teams, and the Science Working Group to ensure that the performance of JWST meets the requirements of the scientific community. In 2003, Mountain initiated a partnership with the

(NOAO), which resulted in the formation of the New Initiatives Office at the

(AURA). The New Initiatives Office conducted a two-year study of the feasibility of ground-based 30-meter telescopes, which led to the inclusion of AURA in the

Thirty Meter Telescope The Thirty Meter Telescope (TMT) is a planned extremely large telescope (ELT) proposed to be built on Mauna Kea, on the Hawaii (island), island of Hawai'i. The TMT would become the largest visible-light telescope on Mauna Kea. Scientists hav ...

(TMT) project. Mountain has also served as a member of the review committee for the

California Extremely Large Telescope The California Extremely Large Telescope (CELT) was a proposal for an extremely large telescope design first proposed in the 1990s by a consortium of Californian Universities. The design was for a segmented 30 m diameter astronomical telescop ...

(which became the TMT) and of the TMT Board. In 2005, Mountain was appointed the director of the Space Telescope Science Institute (STScI) by AURA in consultation with NASA. As part of his effort to transform STScI into an adaptable multi-mission institution and a modern, diverse workplace, Mountain reorganized STScI's internal management and oversaw the creation of the Science Mission Office, the Project Management Organization, and the Future of the Workplace Committee to advise the director on issues of inclusion and workplace culture. As STScI's director, Mountain collaborated with the astronomical community, NASA, and the crew of

STS-125 STS-125, or HST-SM4 (Hubble Space Telescope Servicing Mission 4), was the fifth and final Space Shuttle mission to the Hubble Space Telescope (HST). The launch of the Space Shuttle ''Atlantis'' occurred on May 11, 2009, at 2:01 pm EDT. Land ...

to develop the science priorities for the

's final servicing mission. He also represented the science community at NASA's

Johnson Space Center The Lyndon B. Johnson Space Center (JSC) is NASA's center for human spaceflight in Houston, Texas (originally named the Manned Spacecraft Center), where human spaceflight training, research, and flight controller, flight control are conducted. ...

during the mission's extra-vehicular activities in May 2009. After the servicing mission, Mountain initiated Hubble's Multi-Cycle Treasury Programs (in 2010) and the Frontier Fields initiative (in 2013). As an astrophysicist, Mountain's research interests have included

, instrumentation for infrared astronomy, and the capabilities of advanced telescopes. He has published more than 100 research papers, articles, and reports. Mountain is also a professor in the Department of Physics and Astronomy at the

Johns Hopkins University The Johns Hopkins University (often abbreviated as Johns Hopkins, Hopkins, or JHU) is a private university, private research university in Baltimore, Maryland, United States. Founded in 1876 based on the European research institution model, J ...

and a visiting professor at the

University of Oxford The University of Oxford is a collegiate university, collegiate research university in Oxford, England. There is evidence of teaching as early as 1096, making it the oldest university in the English-speaking world and the List of oldest un ...

.Visiting Professorships in the Mathematical, Physical and Life Sciences

. Accessed October 11, 2013. He is a fellow of the

American Astronomical Society The American Astronomical Society (AAS, sometimes spoken as "double-A-S") is an American society of professional astronomers and other interested individuals, headquartered in Washington, DC. The primary objective of the AAS is to promote the adv ...

, the

Royal Astronomical Society The Royal Astronomical Society (RAS) is a learned society and charitable organisation, charity that encourages and promotes the study of astronomy, planetary science, solar-system science, geophysics and closely related branches of science. Its ...

, and the

American Association for the Advancement of Science The American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) is a United States–based international nonprofit with the stated mission of promoting cooperation among scientists, defending scientific freedom, encouraging scientific responsib ...

, and he is a member of the International Society for Optical Engineering (

SPIE SPIE (formerly the Society of Photographic Instrumentation Engineers, later the Society of Photo-Optical Instrumentation Engineers) is an international not-for-profit professional society for optics and photonics technology, founded in 1955. It ...

). In 2003, Mountain received the Gabriela Mistral Medal for excellence in education from the

Chilean Ministry of Education The Ministry of Education (, MINEDUC) is the Ministry of State responsible for promoting the development of education at all levels, to assure all people access to basic education, to stimulate scientific and technological research and artistic c ...

for the Gemini StarTeachers educational program. This was the first time the medal was awarded outside of Chile.Gabriela Mistral Medal announcement

. Accessed October 11, 2013.

References

External links

AURA website

STScI Director's website

Matt Mountain's biography

Space Telescope Science Institute

The Gemini Observatory

Thirty Meter Telescope (TMT) project
{{DEFAULTSORT:Mountain, Matt Living people Fellows of the American Association for the Advancement of Science Fellows of the Royal Astronomical Society Year of birth missing (living people)