STScI Annual Report 2002: A Living Mission

54 achievements
Our academic environment
Our fellowship programs infuse the Institute and the Hubble program with the freshness of youthful
exploration and discovery. Our visitor programs promote intellectual exchange and research connections
with the world community. Our symposia, colloquia, and topical sessions promote discourse and debate
about emerging results. We invest in the Institute research infrastructure and provide competitive access
to funding for promising research projects.
We manage the Hubble Fellowship Program, selecting recipients on the basis of their excellence
in scientific research and appraising them annually. In 2002, we selected 12 new Hubble Fellows and
supported approximately 30 Hubble Fellows nationwide. We organized the yearly Hubble Fellowship
Symposium, which allows all Fellows to present their latest scientific results.
We also managed the Institute Postdoctoral Fellowship Program, selecting the recipients based
on the strength of their proposed research. In addition, we host many regular postdoctoral fellows and
graduate students, whose research is guided and supported by individual staff members. In 2002, we
had 2 Institute Fellows and hosted approximately 30 regular postdoctoral fellows. We also hosted 22
graduate students, including those enrolled in the Physics and Astronomy Department at The Johns
Hopkins University.
We conduct a variety of programs to host scientific visitors at the Institute. Our Collaborative Visitor
Program supports collaborators on research projects with Institute staff members for visits of one to
four weeks. Our Journal Club Visitor Program supports external scientists who come to give one or more
seminars during visits of one to two weeks. Our Distinguished Visitor Program supports outstanding
astronomers to join the Institute for typically one month. In 2002, we hosted 2 Distinguished Visitors,
12 Journal Club Visitors, and 39 Collaborative Visitors.
Each spring, we organize a symposium on an astronomical topic of major interest with important
new developments. Usually, 100 to 200 astronomers attend these symposia, drawn by the offerings of
cutting-edge research and invited speakers of the first rank. The 2002 symposium, entitled “Astrophysics
of Life,” brought together biologists, geologists, and astronomers to work on understanding the foundations
upon which searches for life in the universe must be based, and which bear on the nature and
origin of life.
The Director’s Discretionary Research Fund (DDRF) supports both short- and long-term staff
research programs as well as infrastructure investments to bolster our research capabilities. In 2002,
the DDRF supported about 50 scientific projects and allocated approximately $475,000 in funding to 25
new projects.
Services to scientists
In order to maintain staff excellence and to continue to attract first-class scientists from the outside
community, we are committed to fostering the careers of the individual staff scientists, especially junior
scientists, by providing mentoring, advising on professional development, and conducting annual science
evaluations. We collect issues that may affect whole categories of scientific staff and address them
through the Institute’s management structure.
We perform an annual evaluation of each AURA scientist based on his or her summary of scientific
achievements for the past year. A committee consisting of the Associate Director for Science and a selection
of junior and senior science staff members evaluates the summaries and determines the salary
merit increases.
We instituted Agenda Groups to address career-related issues for all categories of our science
staff, from graduate students and postdoctoral fellows to senior astronomers. The Agenda Groups have
continued to raise a variety of issues affecting the productivity of the Institute staff. We strategize about
the resolution of such issues at regular meetings between the Science Division Office and representatives
of the Agenda Groups. When appropriate, we coordinate solutions within the Institute management
structure. In 2002, most practical issues were resolved successfully.