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The National Optical Astronomy Observatory (NOAO) is the USA national center for ground-based optical-infrared (OIR) astronomy. It is a Federally Funded Research and Development Center (FFRDC) sponsored by the National Science Foundation and managed by the Association of Universities for Research in Astronomy (AURA). The NOAO mission is to enable discovery for the research community-at-large through open access to world-class facilities, capabilities, services, and data products. NOAO is deploying a new suite of research capabilities including new instruments, data products, and data services. Looking further in the future, NOAO will have major roles in Large Synoptic Survey Telescope (LSST) operations and community research support, and seeks similar roles in the Giant Magellan Telescope (GMT) and/or Thirty Meter Telescope (TMT) facilities as federal funding permits. In parallel to these research enabling activities, NOAO maintains an active program in public education, outreach, and engagement. This talk introduces NOAO and its current activities, presents recent research highlights, and summarizes current strategic initiatives that look towards 2030 and beyond.
Bio: Dr. David R. Silva (Ph. D., Michigan, 1991) has been Director of the National Optical Astronomy Observatory (NOAO) since 2008. NOAO is the U.S. national center for ground-based optical-infrared astronomy. The core mssion of NOAO is to facilitate access for all qualified professional researchers to state-of-the-art observational capabilities and data bases in O/IR astronomy, and to enable the U.S. research community to pursue a broad range of modern astrophysical challenges. Earlier in his career, Silva was a staff astronomer at NOAO in Tucson/Arizona (1993 - 1996) and the European Southern Observatory (ESO) in Garching bei Muenchen, Germany (1997 - 2005). Before rejoining NOAO, he was the Thirty Meter Telescope (TMT) Observatory Scientist (2006 - 2008). Silva has been involved in operations development and/or management for the WIYN, Gemini, ESO Very Large Telescope (VLT), Atacama Large Millimeter/Submillimeter Array (ALMA), Thirty Meter Telescope (TMT), and Large Synoptic Survey Telescope (LSST) projects. He serves currently on the governance boards for the Gemini Observatory, the LSST Corporation, and International TMT Observatory. Silva is a past president for IAU Division B (Facilities, Technologies, and Data Science). |
