Matt Mountain has been the Director of the Space Telescope Science Institute since September 1, 2005. He leads the 400-person organization responsible for the research done with the Hubble Space Telescope and its planned successor, the James Webb Space Telescope.

Matt was previously the Director of the Gemini Observatory, based in Hilo, Hawaii, which has telescopes on Mauna Kea and on Cerro Pachon, in Chile. He is also the Telescope Scientist for NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope, a member of the Webb Science Working Group, a Professor at Johns Hopkins Department of Physics and Astronomy and a Visiting Professor at the University of Oxford (UK).

Matt’s principal research interests have included star formation in galaxies (including our own), advanced infrared instrumentation, and the capabilities of advanced telescopes. He has published more than 100 research papers, articles, and reports. He is a fellow of the American Astronomical Society, the Royal Astronomical Society, and the American Association for the Advancement of Science; and a member of the International Society for Optical Engineering. In 2003 Matt, was awarded the Gabriela Mistral Medal for excellence in education by the Chilean Ministry of Education for the Gemini StarTeachers education program. It was the first time this honor was awarded outside of Chile.

On taking up his appointment at STScI, Matt was quoted by Nature magazine: "This is a very successful institution with a very motivated staff, and I think they feel that their past record justifies their continued existence. That’s an understandable motivation, but it’s not sufficient. We’re going to have to earn our future."

STScI works with:

National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA)

Goddard Space Flight Center (GSFC)

Association of Universities for Research in Astronomy (AURA)

Johns Hopkins University (JHU)

European Space Agency (ESA)

Canadian Space Agency (CSA)