ann20001 — Announcement

North American Regional Office of Astronomy for Development Launched

30 January 2020

The North American Regional Office of Astronomy for Development (NA ROAD) became a reality today at a signing ceremony in Cape Town, South Africa. This milestone brings the vision of the global Office of Astronomy for Development (OAD) to North America and is the OAD’s eleventh Regional Office. The OAD promotes “Astronomy for a better world”, through the sharing of resources that promote STEM advancement, education, and workforce development through the inspiration of astronomy. OAD is an office of the International Astronomical Union (IAU) and the South African National Research Foundation (NRF).

Regional Offices work closely with the global OAD with each focusing on a particular geographic or cultural region. The NA ROAD is established by a consortium of: Adler Planetarium, Associated Universities Inc. (AUI), Association of Universities for Research in Astronomy (AURA), and Geneva Lake Astrophysics and STEAM (GLAS). 

“AURA has a long tradition of engaging with the public through the excitement of astronomy and is pleased to join our partners in coordinating the new North American Regional Office,” said Matt Mountain, AURA President. “This new office has great potential and will expand the reach of the IAU’s OAD. We look forward to assisting in its creation.” 

As an AURA-managed organization, NSF’s National Optical-Infrared Astronomy Research Laboratory will play an active role in the new Regional Office’s educational activities — stay tuned!

Contacts

Shari Lifson
AURA Corporate Communications Coordinator 
Email: slifson@aura-astronomy.org 
Phone: +1 202 769 5232

Peter Michaud
NewsTeam Manager
NSF’s National Optical-Infrared Astronomy Research Laboratory
Gemini Observatory, Hilo HI
Desk: +1 808-974-2510
Cell: +1 808-936-6643
Email: pmichaud@gemini.edu