IPAC Announces New Executive Director, Tom Greene

Thomas (Tom) Greene, astrophysicist and former director of the NASA Ames Center for Exoplanet Studies and chief of the NASA Ames Astrophysics Branch, joins IPAC as its new executive director on May 27.

"We are thrilled to have Tom join us both as IPAC director and as a research professor in the division," says Fiona Harrison, chair of the Division of Physics, Mathematics and Astronomy at Caltech. "He brings a strong background in scientific management and will help us forge new strategic directions."

Greene not only brings years of experience as a scientist, having led numerous studies of protostars and exoplanets, but also over 20 years of experience at the leadership level of major scientific undertakings, such as serving as a co-investigator on the James Webb Space Telescope NIRCam and MIRI instruments.  

"I am really excited about moving to IPAC, and I think my first rule is that I don't want to break anything," says Greene. "IPAC is a well-oiled machine, and it's clearly the place to go as a premier science and data center for a variety of missions and projects."

IPAC is involved with a mission launch almost every year for the next few years, so Greene is joining at an exciting time. As executive director, Greene says there will be many opportunities to leverage IPAC's expertise and strengthen its relationships within the scientific community. 

"There's quite a long list of what IPAC is doing, and I'm looking forward to working with everybody and perpetuating IPAC well into the future," says Greene. 

Greene succeeds George Helou, who has served as IPAC Executive Director for 25 years and as an IPAC scientist for more than 40 years. 

"The organization is healthy. The future is as promising as it has ever been," Helou says. "In addition to our robust outlook of the future, we have an excellent administration and leadership team, and of course, a dedicated and energetic workforce."

Helou, who has made significant advances in the fields of galaxy evolution and star formation, will stay on at Caltech as a Research Professor of Physics, a role he has maintained since 1998. "I look forward to devoting more of my energies to research and other academic pursuits," he says. 

Read more about Helou and his contributions to IPAC here.