Professor Christophe Dumas appointed new Director of UK Astronomy Technology Centre

"Professor Christophe Dumas will lead the Science and Technology Facilities Council (STFC) of the UK Astronomy Technology Centre (UK ATC) from September 2024", announces the UKRI on 12/07/2024.

He will also become head of the STFC Royal Observatory Edinburgh (ROE) site where the UK ATC is based, alongside The University of Edinburgh’s Institute for Astronomy (Scotland).

The professor will follow in the footsteps of Gillian Wright CBE, Director at UK ATC since 2012, and oversee innovative projects in international astronomy, including:

• "developing multiple instruments for the Very Large Telescope at the Paranal Observatory,
• leading the European contribution to the Mid-Infrared Instrument, one of four scientific instruments on board the James Webb Space Telescope".

"UK ATC is one of the world’s most prestigious astronomical research institutions, set to play an important role in breakthroughs like the first light of the Extremely Large Telescope and the launch of the European Space Agency’s LISA mission to uncover the mysteries of the universe", says Mark Thomson, STFC Executive…