The National Solar Observatory has announced two key appointments for its Advanced Technology Solar Telescope (ATST) project, the world’s largest solar telescope.
Dr. Thomas R. Rimmele is appointed ATST Project Director and principal investigator, effective Dec. 1, and Dr. Joseph P. McMullin was appointed to the ATST Project Manager position, effective Nov. 28.
NSO’s mission is to advance knowledge of the Sun, both as an astronomical object and as the dominant external influence on Earth, by providing forefront observational opportunities to the research community. NSO is operated by Association of Universities for Research in Astronomy (AURA Inc.) under a cooperative agreement with the National Science Foundation (NSF) for the benefit of the astronomical community.
The separation of NSO and ATST director duties will let NSO Director Stephen L. Keil concentrate on NSO transition issues as NSO prepares to consolidate its operations.
ATST, an international, $298 million project led by the NSO, will become the world’s most powerful solar optical and infrared telescope when it starts operating in 2018. It is to be built on Haleakala, Maui, Hawaii, when final approvals are received. Its 4-meter (13-foot) aperture and advances in adaptive optics will let ATST measure the structure and evolution of solar magnetic structures at much finer spatial and temporal scales than is possible with existing or other planned telescopes. Most important, ATST will be able to measure these structures both on the bright disk and in the faint corona, and with wavelength coverage from the near ultraviolet to the relatively unexplored thermal infrared part of the spectrum.
Rimmele has been involved with ATST from its earliest phases, including serving as project scientist, principal investigator for its adaptive optics, work package lead for wavefront correction and instrumentation, chairing the ATST Science Working Group (2000-2005), and directing the ATST Site Survey (2002-2005). He earned his doctorate in physics from the University of Freiburg, Germany, in 1993. He also serves as a research professor at New Jersey Institute of Technology, a partner in the ATST project.
“Thomas brings a strong commitment to get ATST built and to enter into ATST operations,” Keil said. “He has an in depth understanding of all aspects of the project and what it will take for scientifically valuable operations.”
McMullin comes to NSO from the National Radio Astronomy Observatory (NRAO) where he was the commissioning lead for the Expanded Very Large Array (EVLA) radio telescope, based in Socorro, NM. Previously he was System Integration Lead for the Atacama Large Millimeter Array of radio telescopes and based in Santiago, Chile. He earned his doctorate in astronomy from the University of Maryland in 1994.
“Joe has managed assembly and integration of dozens of radio telescopes, each comparable in complexity to what we will build with ATST,” Keil said. “We look forward to his expertise in bringing the ATST to fruition.”
The appointments come as NSO is restructuring itself. In addition to building ATST, NSO operates major facilities at the Kitt Peak National Observatory near Tucson, at the Sacramento Peak Observatory in New Mexico, and long-term synoptic sites at several sites around the world. NSO plans to ramp down operations at its older telescopes, some dating to the 1950s, as ATST comes on line.
