Joan T. Schmelz

Joan T. Schmelz is the associate director for science and public outreach at the Stratospheric Observatory for Infrared Astronomy (SOFIA) for the Universities Space Research Association (USRA). Previously, Schmelz was the deputy director of Arecibo Observatory and the director of USRA Operations at Arecibo from 2015 through 2018. Before joining USRA, Schmelz was an NSF program director in the Astronomical Sciences Division, where she oversaw the Astronomy & Astrophysics Postdoctoral Fellowship program, and a professor of physics at the University of Memphis from 1996 to 2017. Schmelz's research focus is heliophysics, specifically investigating the coronal heating problem as well as the properties and dynamics of the solar atmosphere. She uses spectroscopic and image data in the X-ray and ultraviolet wavelength ranges obtained from NASA satellites and rockets. She has published over 80 refereed scientific journal articles and authored three books.

Schmelz was the chair of the American Astronomical Society's (AAS's) Committee on the Status of Women in Astronomy for 6 years (two terms) and has been the vice president of the AAS since June 2018. In December 2015, Schmelz was named by the scientific journal Nature as one of the ten people who mattered in 2015 because of her significant work as a voice for women in science, specifically because of her behind-the-scenes efforts to expose sexual harassment in science. Provided by Wikipedia