Starting May 1, 2023, the LSSTC Executive Board of Directors will have a new chair and co-chair. Michael Wood-Vasey from the University of Pittsburgh is the next Chair of the Board, and Kathryn Johnston from Columbia University is the next Vice-Chair.
Michael Wood-Vasey
University of Pittsburgh
Michael Wood-Vasey has been involved in leading the science planning for supernova science with the Vera C. Rubin Observatory LSST survey for the past 15 years. He has been a member of the Executive Board of the LSST Corporation since 2019 and has served as Vice Chair since 2020. He is currently co-chair of the DESC Computing Committee. Michael previously served as the Scientific Spokesperson for the third generation of the Sloan Digital Sky Survey project.
Kathryn Johnston
Columbia University
Kathryn Johnston has an undergraduate degree from Cambridge in Mathematics and a PhD in Astronomy and Astrophysics. She was a postdoc at the Institute for Advanced Study in Princeton and junior faculty at Wesleyan University (Connecticut). She joined the Columbia faculty as a tenured professor in July 2006. Kathryn has leadership experience in faculty governance, developing community resources for research, and fostering supportive work environments. Her professional roles at Columbia include serving as chair for the Shared Research Computing Policy Advisory Committee, 2014-2016 (Columbia-wide); the Astronomy Department, 2014-2017; and the Committee on Equity and Diversity, 2019-2022 (within the School of Arts and Sciences).
“I was happy to join the LSSTC Institutional Board as the member representative for Columbia in 2019. My research interests in Galactic Dynamics and the Milky Way make LSST the survey to be involved within the next decade, and my service work is strongly motivated by building networks and community. I am delighted to join at a time when LSSTC is redefining its purpose to become even more closely aligned with my own professional interests. I look forward to working with the LSSTC Executive Officer, staff, EB, and IB towards these inspirational aims.”