The Fellows program of the American Astronomical Society (AAS), the major organization of professional astronomers in North America, was established in 2019 to honor members for their contributions toward the AAS mission of enhancing and sharing humanity's scientific understanding of the universe. The following members of ASD were honored among the first group of AAS Fellows, announced Feb. 25:
Edward Cheng
Alice Harding
Sangeeta Malhotra
Maxim Markevitch
John Mather
William Pence
Tod Strohmayer
Jean Hebb Swank
Kimberly Weaver
The Instrument Development Group designs, develops, and assesses the scientific quality of high-performance instrumentation for observing at wavelengths from submillimeter to gamma rays as well as cosmic rays and gravitational waves. The instrumentation is flown on satellites, rockets, balloons, and aircraft, and is tested in ground-based applications. Services provided to the Astrophysics Science Division include:
Oversee the development and operation of laboratory equipment required to develop and calibrate astrophysical instruments.
Design, develop, and test advanced detectors and electronic and optical-mechanical instrumentation.
Determine requirements for and monitor performance of all contracts for electrical, mechanical and technician engineering support services.
