Career

I am an astronomer by training and passion.

My current position is distinguished professor of physics & astronomy at the University of Texas at San Antonio, a rising Carnegie R1 / Hispanic Serving Institution. Here, I am studying structure in large astronomical datasets, while facilitating the growth of the UTSA space technology & operations ecosystem. During the 2025 academic year, my formal teaching activity focuses introducing relativistic and quantum phenomena to undergraduate students. My UTSA activities connect me to a board range of talented scientists, engineers, and students.

Before joining UTSA, I had privilege to collaborate with many of the leading scientists, engineers, and administrators from the global astronomical community. From those collaborations, I gained extensive experience leading mixed, multi-program teams of scientific, engineering, technical, and administrative personnel, often across multiple international sites.

Career summary (details: two-page resume)

2024—now   |  Director, Center for Space Technology & Operations Research (CSTOR)
2024—now   |  Affiliate Faculty Member, UTSA School of Data Science
2019—now   |  Distinguished Professor, UTSA Physics & Astronomy

2019—2024 |  Dean, UTSA College of Sciences
2008—2019 |  Director, National Optical Astronomy Observatory
2006—2008 |  Observatory Scientist, Thirty Meter Telescope Project
2000—2005 |  Leader, ESO Science Archive Facility
1997—2000 |  Leader, ESO User Support Group
1996—1997 |  Astronomer, US Gemini Project Office
1993—1995 |  Project Manager / Observatory Scientist, WIYN 3.5-m Telescope
1991—1993 |  Postdoctoral Fellow, Kitt Peak National Observatory

1984—1991 |   Astronomy Ph.D. student, U. of Michigan
1979—1984 |   Astronomy / Physics B.Sc. student, U. of Arizona

In 2024, I completed five years as Dean of the UTSA College of Sciences.

From 2008 - 2019, I was Director of the National Optical Astronomy Observatory (NOAO), the NSF's national observatory for ground-based optical-infrared astronomy. NOAO developed, built, and operated astronomical telescopes, instruments, and data systems in Arizona and Chile. During my directorship, NOAO and its partners implemented the Community Science and Data Center (home of the Astro Data Lab), the U.S. Extremely Large Telescope Program (US-ELTP), the Dark Energy Survey (DES), and the Dark Energy Spectroscopic Instrument (DESI). In 2020, NOAO assets were merged into the NSF's National Optical Infrared Laboratory, NOIRLab. I co-led the team that developed the baseline concept and implementation plan that was approved by NSF.

Throughout my career, I have made significant contributions to the design, development, and operation of observatories, telescopes, focal-plane instruments, and data systems for American, European, and South American astronomical research communities. My technical experience is broadest regarding astronomical data acquisition, processing, visualization, management, and storage.

My scientific research focuses on how emerging technologies and techniques reveal new insights into galaxy evolution over the past several billion years.

I have served on various international governance and review boards and held elected positions in the American Astronomical Society and the International Astronomical Union.

I completed my professional training at the University of Arizona (B.Sc., Physics / Astronomy, 1979 – 1984), the University of Michigan (Ph.D., Astronomy, 1984 – 1991), and the Kitt Peak National Observatory (postdoctoral fellow, 1991 - 1993)