AAS Agents Program
About the Agents program - skip to Roster of Agents
Similar to the precinct-captain model of election campaigns, the AAS Agents program is designed to improve communication between the Society and its members and to enhance the profile of the AAS in the astronomical sciences community by providing a local, familiar point of contact at each home institution.
What is the role of an AAS Agent?
Agents serve as volunteer liaisons between the Society and those it represents, members and non-members alike. They serve several roles:
- Advocate for Society membership: encouraging astronomers to join the Society
- Conduit for essential information: passing along particularly important information to their constituents
- A familiar face: those in our community are more likely to engage the AAS when they have a local Agent who is a known peer
- A filter of communication: a local Agent knows which information is most relevant for their constituents, and so can tailor and filter communications from the AAS as appropriate for their unit. They can also solicit input from facets of the community not represented by the Strategic Assembly to ensure the AAS is responsive to the needs of everyone in the astronomical sciences
- A local resource: often, a quick email or conversation is more efficient and useful than a website. Agents serve as a local, known point of contact to answer questions and have conversations about the Society and its services.
Who is my local AAS Agent?
Scroll down for the roster of AAS Agents. If your institution isn't on this list, i.e., doesn't already have an AAS Agent, please consider volunteerting to serve in this important capacity!
OK, how do I sign up?
Please email the membership staff and let them know that you're interested in becoming an AAS Agent at your institution. You may also volunteer to include related or nearby institutions as part of your charge, especially if they might have too few in the astronomy and/or physics department to warrant their own Agent.
Jason Wright (Pennsylvania State University) is the current Lead Agent; the Deputy Lead Agent is Stephen C. Unwin (NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory).
INSTITUTION | LOCATION | AAS AGENT |
---|---|---|
Alabama in Huntsville, University of | Huntsville, AL | Jon E. Hakkila |
American Museum of Natural History | New York, NY | Kelle L. Cruz |
Angelo State University | San Angelo, TX | Thomas J. Maccarone |
Arizona State University | Tempe, AZ | Patrick A. Young |
Arizona, University of | Tucson, AZ | Xiaohui Fan |
Auburn University | Auburn, AL | Dennis Bodewits |
Baylor University | Waco, TX | Barbara Castanheira Endl |
Boston University | Boston, MA | Tereasa G. Brainerd |
Brigham Young University, Provo | Provo, UT | Eric G. Hintz |
Calgary, University of | Calgary, AB | Denis A. Leahy |
California at Irvine, University of | Irvine, CA | Vivian U |
California at San Diego, University of | La Jolla, CA | Adam J. Burgasser |
Canada-France-Hawaii Telescope | Kamuela, HI | Heather Flewelling |
Carnegie Institution for Science, EPL | Washington, DC | Alycia J. Weinberger |
Ctr for Astrophysics | Harvard & Smithsonian | Cambridge, MA | Rodolfo Montez, Jr. |
CHARA Array, The | Los Angeles, CA | Nicholas J. Scott |
Colorado at Boulder, University of | Boulder, CO | Zachory K. Berta-Thompson |
Columbia University | New York, NY | David J. Helfand |
Denver, University of | Denver, CO | Jennifer L. Hoffman |
Drexel University | Philadelphia, PA | Gordon T. Richards |
Florida Gulf Coast University | Fort Myers, FL | Derek L. Buzasi |
Georgia State University | Atlanta, GA | Todd J. Henry |
Green Bank Observatory | Green Bank, WV | Karen L. O'Neil |
Haverford College | Haverford, PA | Karen L. Masters |
Hunter College | New York, NY | Kelle L. Cruz |
Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, University of | Urbana, IL | Tony H. Wong |
Indiana University | Bloomington, IN | Catherine A. Pilachowski |
Iowa, University of | Iowa City, IA | Casey DeRoo |
IPAC / NExScI | Pasadena, CA | Dawn M. Gelino |
Kentucky, University of | Lexington, KY | Ronald J. Wilhelm |
Kutztown University/PA State System of Higher Ed | Kutztown, PA | Phillip A. Reed |
Louisville, University of | Louisville, KY | Gerard M. Williger |
Manchester, University of | Manchester, UK | Christopher Conselice |
Maryland at College Park, University of | College Park, MD | Stuart N. Vogel |
Maryland, Baltimore County, University of | Baltimore, MD | Eileen T. Meyer |
Michigan, University of | Ann Arbor, MI | Christopher J. Miller |
Minnesota, Twin Cities, University of | Minneapolis, MN | Claudia Scarlata |
MiraCosta College/Ctr for Astronomy Ed | Oceanside, CA | Rica Sirbaugh French |
Missouri State University | Springfield, MO | Sarah J. Morrison |
NASA HQ | Washington, DC | Joshua Pepper |
NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory | Pasadena, CA | Stephen C. Unwin |
New Mexico State University | Las Cruces, NM | Wladimir Lyra |
New Mexico Tech | Socorro, NM | Ryan P. Norris |
North Carolina, Chapel Hill, University of | Chapel Hill, NC | Fabian Heitsch |
Northwestern University | Evanston, IL | Frederic A. Rasio |
NSF's NOIRLab | La Serena, CHILE | Nicole S. Van Der Bliek |
Penn State | University Park, PA | Jason Thomas Wright |
Princeton University | Princeton, NJ | Michael A. Strauss |
Rochester Institute of Technology | Rochester, NY | Joel H. Kastner |
Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey | Piscataway, NJ | Alyson Brooks |
Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory | Cambridge, MA | Scott J. Wolk |
Space Telescope Science Institute (STScI) | Baltimore, MD | Nimish Hathi |
St. Mary's University, forthcoming | TDB | Leslie John Sage |
Tennessee, Knoxville, University of | Knoxville, TN | Zoha Laraib |
Texas at El Paso, University of | El Paso, TX | Thomas J. Maccarone |
Texas at San Antonio, University of | San Antonio, TX | Lisa Shepard |
Texas Christian University (TCU) | Fort Worth, TX | Peter M. Frinchaboy |
Texas Tech University | Lubbock, TX | Thomas J. Maccarone |
Toledo, University of | Toledo, OH | Karen S. Bjorkman |
USNO | Columbia, MD | Sethanne Howard |
Valparaiso University | Eagle, WI | Lane Scheel |
Villanova University | Villanova, PA | Kelly Hambleton |
W. M. Keck Observatory | Kamuela, HI | John O'Meara |
Washington at Seattle, University of | Seattle, WA | Bruce Balick |
Washington University in St. Louis | St. Louis, MO | Tansu Daylan |
West Virginia University | Morgantown, WV | Karen L. O'Neil |
Wisconsin at Whitewater, University of | Whitewater, WI | Robert A. Benjamin |
Wyoming, University of | Laramie, WY | Adam D. Myers |
Yale University | New Haven, CT | C. Megan Urry |
Youngstown State University | Youngstown, OH | John J. Feldmeier |