NOAO director appointed

Australian astronomer Jeremy Mould has been named as the new director of the National Optical Astronomy Observatories (NOAO), Tucson, Arizona, succeeding astronomer Sidney Wolff, who announced more than a year ago her intention to step down as soon as a new director could be found (See Physics Today, January 2000, page 45). Mould is both an administrator and an active researcher, having recently played an important part in the Hubble Space Telescope Key Project on the Extra-galactic Distance Scale. Most recently he was the director of the Australian National University’s Mount Stromlo and Siding Springs Observatories. The announcement was made by the Association of Universities for Research in Astronomy, which oversees NOAO. “I’m delighted that Jeremy will join AURA in this new capacity,” said AURA president William Smith. “I am confident that he will fulfill the role of the National Observatory as recently called for by the Astronomy...