Meet the Team

AWE is made possible by the remarkable expertise, performance, dedication, and collaboration of team members across all participating organizations. The collective team numbers over 100, including, but not limited to, the NASA Explorers oversight team, AWE science team, researchers, postdoctorates, mission managers, engineers, fabrication and materials specialists, safety specialists, mission assurance and quality assurance specialists, technologists, contract administrators, cost analysts, technical writers, marketing specialists, web developers, and graduate and undergraduate students.

NASA Mission Partners

The AWE mission will be the newest addition to NASA’s Heliophysics System Observatory (HSO), which is dedicated to exploring our Sun and understanding its impact here on Earth and out to the farthest reaches of our solar system. As a part of the HSO, AWE provides a unique focus on wave energy entering the boundary region between our atmosphere and space.

LaMont Ruley

Mission Manager (Phases B-D)
NASA

James Dickey

Mission Director (Phases E-F)
NASA

Ruth Lieberman, PhD

Mission Scientist
NASA

Esayas Shume, PhD

Program Scientist
NASA

Elizabeth Esther

Program Executive
NASA

Subject Matter Experts

Members of the AWE science team gathered around a computer monitor indoors.

Science Team

Responsible for achieving AWE science objectives.

Ludger Scherliess, PhD
Principal Investigator
Utah State University
Mike Taylor, PhD
PI Emeritus & Senior Science Expert
Utah State University
Jonathan Snively, PhD
Deputy Principal Investigator
Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University
Jeff Forbes, PhD
Emeritus Deputy Principal Investigator
University of Colorado Boulder
Dave Fritts, PhD
Project Scientist
GATS Inc.
Hanli Liu, PhD
Co-Investigator
National Center for Atmospheric Research
Stephen Eckermann, PhD
Co-Investigator
Naval Research Laboratory
Members of the AWE research team gathered around a computer monitor on a rooftop at night.

Research Team

Provides support to the science team.

Yucheng Zhao, PhD
Scientist
Utah State University
Dominique Pautet, PhD
Scientist
Utah State University
Robert Stockwell, PhD
Scientist
GATS Inc.
Xiaoli Zhang, PhD
Scientist
University of Colorado Boulder
A member of the AWE mission team dressed in a cleanroom coverall, working on the AMTM instrument.

Mission Team

Responsible for payload performance and project management.

Burt Lamborn
Project Manager
Space Dynamics Laboratory
Harri Latvakoski, PhD
Project Systems Engineer
Space Dynamics Laboratory
Erik Syrstad, PhD
Payload Manager
Space Dynamics Laboratory
Brian Thompson
Payload Systems Engineer
Space Dynamics Laboratory
Russ Kirkham
Safety & Mission Assurance
Space Dynamics Laboratory
Pedro Sevilla
Ground Systems & Mission Operations
Space Dynamics Laboratory

Participating Organizations

NASA logo.
Utah State University logo.
Space Dynamics Laboratory logo.
U.S. Naval Research Laboratory logo.
National Center For Atmospheric Research logo.
Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University logo.
University of Colorado Boulder logo.
GATS logo.
Atmospheric Waves Experiment
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The material is based upon work supported by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration under Contract Number 80GSFC18C0007.

Any opinions, findings, and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this material are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration.