Dr. Becklin is the leader of all SOFIA science activities. He works to see that the observatory science goals are met and to ensure that the design, implementation, and operation of the observatory - including its telescope and instruments - will meet these goals. He closely reviews the expected performance for the 2.5 m telescope, and the ongoing development of the suite of Facility Instruments being readied for the astronomical community for for first-light science. Dr. Becklin's personal research interests include the investigation of the nature of young stellar objects, planetary systems, the Galactic Center and other galactic nuclei.

Helen Hall (USRA)
Program Director
hhall@sofia.usra.edu

Ms. Helen Hall is Director of the SOFIA Program, leading USRA’s overall SOFIA effort at NASA Ames Research Center. In this capacity, Helen ensures that the USRA program provides NASA the support it needs. She is responsible for directing the team that manages SOFIA science and mission operations; science instrument development; systems engineering and integration of the science instruments with the telescope; mirror coating and maintenance operations; mission communication and control; scientific data processing and archiving; and education and public outreach. She works closely with her management counterparts at NASA Ames, NASA Dryden and the Deutsche SOFIA Institute to assure mission safety and success.

B-G Andersson (USRA)
Science Operations Manager
bg@sofia.usra.edu

As Science Operations Manager, Dr. Andersson leads a team of support scientists and is responsible for the SOFIA user support to the astronomical community. He works with the Science Mission Operations Director to set up and support the process of soliciting and selecting science proposals. In addition, Dr. Andersson collaborates with an international group of researchers, including from the US, Finland and South African, to conduct research, primarily on interstellar medium polarization, with a general aim of understanding how gas transitions between the dense and diffuse phases of the ISM.

Dana Backman (SETI)
Associate Director for Education and Public Outreach
dbackman@sofia.usra.edu

Sean Casey (USRA)
Senior Scientist
scasey@sofia.usra.edu

Dr. Casey coordinates the design and development of the nine first-light science instruments, and insures that as they become ready, they will meet their performance goals and "fit" into the observatory: physically, electronically, and operationally. This includes use of common observing modes, common paths to FAA flight certification, and a shared software and archiving environment. Dr. Casey's personal research interests include the study of interstellar dust grain composition and their resultant optical absorption and emission properties.

Thomas Roellig (NASA)
Project Scientist
troellig@mail.arc.nasa.gov

Göran Sandell (USRA)
Associate Chief Scientist
gsandell@sofia.usra.edu

Dr. Sandell is preparing for the operational needs of ground operations, including the planned data processing and archiving systems, and the necessary software tools to be used for observation planning and flight planning. Dr. Sandell is also preparing for the upcoming critical tests required for telescope/airplane integration. He, along with the Project Scientist, will coordinate the performance tests that will evaluate the observatory before operations commence. Additionally, Dr. Sandell's personal research interests include studies of star formation, in both low and high mass star-forming region; young stars, accretion disks around these objects, and the interstellar chemistry of molecular clouds.

Ralph Shuping (USRA)
Integrated Data Systems Manager (acting)
rshuping@sofia.usra.edu

Pasquale Temi (NASA)
Facility Scientist
ptemi@mail.arc.nasa.gov

William Vacca (USRA)
Senior Scientist
wvacca@sofia.usra.edu

Jürgen Wolf (DSI)
Senior Research Scientist
jwolf@sofia.usra.edu

In coordination with the DLR SOFIA team and the German SOFIA Science Working Group, Dr. Wolf is on assignment to the USRA team at NASA Ames Research Center to help develop the observatory and its ground support facilities. His involvement includes the preparation of science laboratories and an instrument pre-flight integration facility in the SOFIA Science and Missions Operations Center, airworthiness certification of instruments, functional and performance testing of the observatory and the preparation of future German personnel deployments. Dr. Wolf's research interest is focussed on the development of far infrared detectors and their application to imaging and spectroscopy. As a continuation of previous work at his home institution, the DLR Institute of Space Sensor Technology and Planetary Exploration in Berlin, he is working on two-dimensional photoconductor arrays and related cryogenic readout electronics for applications on SOFIA.