STScI Presents the Rocky Worlds Director’s Discretionary Time (DDT) Science Advisory Council
As recently announced, a new 500-hour Director’s Discretionary Time (DDT) program will use JWST observations to search for atmospheres in more than a dozen nearby exoplanet systems. In tandem, around 250 orbits of ultraviolet observations with the Hubble Space Telescope will be devoted to characterize the activity of the host stars.
While the implementation of this program will be led by an STScI Core Implementation Team, a Science Advisory Council (SAC) has also been defined. The membership of this body is drawn from the broader exoplanet community. They will provide advice on all aspects of the program, including target selection, data verification, and equitable community interactions.
An open call to join this Council was circulated in early August and received over 70 nominations from all around the world. A group of 3 previously-appointed Council members performed the selection of 9 new Council members out of all the applications, using a varied range of selection criteria including the nominee’s scientific and technical expertise, demonstrated collaborative and organizational experience, and commitment to represent the broader community.
The full list of Science Advisory Council members is:
- Rory Barnes (University of Washington, USA)
- Natasha Batalha (NASA/Ames, USA)
- Bjorn Benneke (Université de Montréal, Canada)
- Adina Feinstein (Michigan State University, USA)
- Kevin France (University of Colorado, USA)
- Aishwarya Iyer (NASA/GSFC, USA)
- Daniel Koll (Peking University, China)
- Laura Kreidberg (MPIA, Germany)
- Rafael Luque (University of Chicago, USA)
- Megan Mansfield (ASU/Maryland, USA)
- Kevin Stevenson (JHU/APL, USA)
- Allison Youngblood (NASA/GSFC, USA)
Additional details of the program are available.
Astrobiology
