Claire Max, professor of astronomy and astrophysics at the University of California, Santa Cruz, was named director of the University of California Observatories. She has been serving as interim director since June 2014. The University of California Laboratories operates the Lick Observatory on Mount Hamilton, east of San Jose. It also operates laboratories on the campuses of UCLA and the University of California, Santa Cruz. In addition, it is a supporting agency for the university’s partnership in the W.M. Keck Observatory in Hawaii.
Dr. Max joined the faculty at the University of California, Santa Cruz in 2001. Previously, she worked at the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory. Professor Max’s research involves laser guide star adaptive optics, a technology that removes the blurring effects of turbulence in Earth’s atmosphere. Earlier this year, Professor Max received the 2015 Joseph Weber Award in Astronomical Instrumentation from the American Astronomical Society.
Professor Max is a graduate of Harvard University. She earned a Ph.D. in astrophysical sciences and plasma physics from Princeton University.