Jennifer Lotz
Director’s Message
New Beginnings
Aloha, Hola, Olá, 안녕하세요, Bonjour, and Hello from the Gemini Director’s office! It is my
great honor and pleasure to write my first Director’s Message.
I look forward to engaging with Gemini’s diverse community and working with our staff
in Hilo and La Serena in the coming months and years. Thanks to the leadership of former
Director Markus Kissler-Patig and Interim Director Laura Ferrarese, I am fortunate to ar-
rive at Gemini during a particularly exciting time in its history. Our new partnership with
the Republic of Korea and the recent award from the US National Science Foundation
(NSF) for enhancements to the Gemini North adaptive optics (GNAO) system (see page
12) are just two of the promising new developments at the Observatory. I took this posi-
tion because I believe that Gemini Observatory has tremendous potential for scientific
discovery and leadership, and together we can push the forefront of astronomical dis-
covery into the 2020s.
I come to Gemini Observatory from the Space Telescope Science Institute (STScI), where
I worked on developing policies and tools to help future James Webb Space Telescope
users and lead the Hubble Frontier Fields program. Prior to STScI, I was a National Opti-
cal Astronomy Observatory (NOAO) Goldberg Fellow in Tucson, Arizona, and I am look-
ing forward to returning to Tucson. My time at the NOAO and STScI have instilled in me
a strong commitment to service to the US and international astronomy communities.
Every astronomer with a great idea should have the opportunity to test their idea with
world-class facilities such as the Gemini Observatory. As Director, I plan to put science
first. With the Gemini staff, we will prioritize the delivery of high-impact science and en-
October 2018
GeminiFocus
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