4MOST - 4-metre Multi-Object Spectroscopic Telescope
4-m Multi-Object Spectroscopic Telescope
4MOST

Changes to Survey leadership

by Joe Liske on 2020-10-20

The science programme of 4MOST is driven by its individual Surveys, each pursuing different science cases. Currently, there are ten such Surveys to fill the Guaranteed Time Observations of the Consortium, each under the leadership of one or more Survey Principal Investigators (PIs). After 10 years of serving as Survey co-PI of the Milky Way Halo Low-Resolution Survey (S1), Prof. Amina Helmi has unfortunately decided to resign from this position. The 4MOST Project is very grateful for her leadership since the start of the project and for bringing the Survey to its current excellent state together with her S1 co-PI Prof. Mike Irwin. Amina is looking forward to seeing data arrive in a few years' time and will remain involved in the further development and exploitation of the Survey. We wish Amina all the best for her other endeavours and the responsibilities she has taken on.

Fortunately, Amina's resignation will not leave a vacancy. The Project is extremely pleased that the 4MOST Executive Board has approved the nomination of Prof. Else Starkenburg as the new co-PI of the Milky Way Halo Low-Resolution Survey at its meeting on 15 October 2020. This is expected to be a fairly smooth leadership transition, as Else already served as one of the co-PIs of S3, the Milky Way Disc and Bulge Low-Resolution Survey (4MIDABLE-LR), in the past, and is hence already familiar with the required background. While Else will remain active within 4MIDABLE-LR, its leadership is now in the hands of the remaining S3 Co-PIs Dr. Cristina Chiappini and Dr. Ivan Minchev.

The Project would like to thank everyone involved in this transition for the excellent leadership provided so far, and is looking forward to the continued collaboration toward the final development of the survey programme, science operations and data exploitation.