VERITAS Team
Meet the VERITAS Team
VERITAS will answer outstanding fundamental questions about the evolution of Venus – Earth’s planetary twin.
Some key members of the VERITAS team (left to right, top first): Jöern Helbert, Darby Dyar, Sue Smrekar, Luciano Iess, Scott Hensley.
NASA/JPL-Caltech
VERITAS Mission Leadership
Dr. Sue Smrekar, VERITAS Principal Investigator
Dr. Smrekar (she/her) is a senior research scientist at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) in Southern California. She is an internationally recognized expert on the surface and interior of Venus.
Her work focuses on understanding the key factors that cause terrestrial planets, especially Venus and Earth, to evolve along different paths. Dr. Smrekar’s research integrates geophysical modeling, data analysis, and geologic constraints.
Dr. Smrekar has assembled a diverse science team of leading experts from around the world for the VERITAS mission.
Dr. Sue Smrekar, principal investigator for NASA’s VERITAS mission to Venus.
Courtesy of Sue Smrekar
Dr. Darby Dyar, VERITAS Deputy Principal Investigator
Dr. Dyar is the Kennedy-Schelkunoff Professor and Chair in the Department of Astronomy at Mount Holyoke College in South Hadley, Massachusetts. She also is a Senior Scientist at the Planetary Science Institute in Tucson, Arizona.
In addition to being the deputy principal investigator for the VERITAS mission, Dr. Dyar is the co-lead for the mission’s Venus Emissivity Mapper (VEM) instrument.
Dr. Darby Dyar addresses an audience.
Full Science Team (in alphabetical order)
VERITAS Co-Investigators
| Name | Role(s) | Institution(s) |
|---|---|---|
| Jeffrey Andrews-Hanna | Co-Investigator | University of Arizona |
| Doris Breuer | Co-Investigator | Deutsches Zentrum für Luft- und Raumfahrt (DLR), Berlin |
| Debra Buczkowski | Co-Investigator | Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Laboratory |
| Bruce Campbell | Co-Investigator | Center for Earth and Planetary Studies, Smithsonian Institution |
| Anne Davaille | Co-Investigator | CNRS – University Paris-Saclay, France |
| Gaetano Di Achille | Co-Investigator | National Institute for Astrophysics (INAF), Astronomical Observatory of Abruzzo, Italy |
| M. Darby Dyar | Deputy Principal Investigator | Planetary Science Institute / Mount Holyoke College |
| Caleb Fassett | Co-Investigator | Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Laboratory |
| Martha Gilmore | Co-Investigator | Wesleyan University |
| Scott Hensley | Project Scientist | Jet Propulsion Laboratory, NASA |
| Robert Herrick | Co-Investigator | University of Alaska Fairbanks |
| Luciano Iess | Co-Investigator | Sapienza University of Rome |
| Lauren Jozwiak | Co-Investigator | Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory |
| Marco Mastrogiuseppe | Co-Investigator | University La Sapienza, Rome |
| Erwan Mazarico | Co-Investigator | Goddard Space Flight Center |
| Nils Mueller | Co-Investigator | Deutsches Zentrum für Luft- und Raumfahrt (DLR), Berlin |
| Daniel Nunes | Deputy Project Scientist | Jet Propulsion Laboratory, NASA |
| Sue Smrekar | Principal Investigator | Jet Propulsion Laboratory, NASA |
| Joann Stock | Co-Investigator | Caltech |
| Thomas Widemann | Co-Investigator | Observatoire de Paris/LESIA, France |
| Jennifer Whitten | Associate Deputy Principal Investigator | Center for Earth and Planetary Studies, Smithsonian Institution |
| Howard Zebker | Co-Investigator | Stanford University |
VERITAS Collaborators
| Name | Role | Institution(s) |
|---|---|---|
| Solmaz Adeli | Collaborator | Deutsches Zentrum für Luft- und Raumfahrt (DLR), Berlin |
| Giulia Alemanno | Collaborator | Deutsches Zentrum für Luft- und Raumfahrt (DLR), Berlin |
| Jacopo Baccarin | Collaborator | Deutsches Zentrum für Luft- und Raumfahrt (DLR), Berlin |
| Laura Breitenfeld | Collaborator | Planetary Science Institute |
| Gael Cascioli | Collaborator | University of Maryland Baltimore County (UMBC) |
| Ankita Das | Collaborator | Freie Universitat Berlin, Institute of Geosciences |
| Fabrizio deMarchi | Collaborator | Sapienza Aerospace Research Center |
| Daniele Durante | Collaborator | University La Sapienza, Rome |
| Michael Eineder | Collaborator | Deutsches Zentrum für Luft- und Raumfahrt (DLR), Berlin |
| Indujaa Ganesh | Collaborator | University of Alaska Fairbanks |
| Stephen Garland | Collaborator | Deutsches Zentrum für Luft- und Raumfahrt (DLR), Berlin |
| Flavia Giuliani | Collaborator | University La Sapienza, Rome |
| Anna Gülcher | Collaborator | Caltech/JPL |
| Christopher Hamilton | Collaborator | University of Arizona |
| Jim Head | Collaborator | Brown University |
| Jöern Helbert | Collaborator | Deutsches Zentrum für Luft- und Raumfahrt (DLR), Berlin |
| Oddisey Knox | Collaborator | University of Arizona |
| Julia Maia | Collaborator | Deutsches Zentrum für Luft- und Raumfahrt (DLR), Berlin |
| Alessandro Maturilli | Collaborator | Deutsches Zentrum für Luft- und Raumfahrt (DLR), Berlin |
| Gro B. M. Pedersen | Collaborator | University of Iceland |
| Erin Pimentel | Collaborator | Caltech |
| Ana-Catalina “Ina” Plesa | Collaborator | Deutsches Zentrum für Luft- und Raumfahrt (DLR), Berlin |
| Pau Prats | Collaborator | Deutsches Zentrum für Luft- und Raumfahrt (DLR), Berlin |
| Maria Carmela Raguso | Collaborator | Jet Propulsion Laboratory, NASA |
| Joseph Schools | Collaborator | University of Arizona |
| Ellen Stofan | Collaborator | Smithsonian Institution |
| Michaela Walterová | Collaborator | Charles University |
| Cai Ytsma | Collaborator | Cai Consulting |
VERITAS Project Leadership
| Name | Role(s) | Institution(s) |
|---|---|---|
| Alessandra Babuscia | Telecom S/S Lead | Jet Propulsion Laboratory, NASA |
| Mark Boyles | Deputy Project Manager / Flight System Manager / Spacecraft Subcontract CTM / Acting Payload Manager | Jet Propulsion Laboratory, NASA |
| Jerome Carron | Project Manager at CNES | CNES |
| John Brophy | Project System Engineer | Jet Propulsion Laboratory, NASA |
| Pieter Kallemeyn | Chief Engineer at LM | Lockheed Martin |
| Dorothy Lewis | Mission Assurance Manager | Jet Propulsion Laboratory, NASA |
| Rick Nybakken | Project Manager | Jet Propulsion Laboratory, NASA |
| Gisbert Peter | VEM Instrument Manager at DLR | Deutsches Zentrum für Luft- und Raumfahrt (DLR), Berlin |
| Adnan Selod | Business Manager | Jet Propulsion Laboratory, NASA |
| Mark Wallace | Mission Design Manager | Jet Propulsion Laboratory, NASA |
| Josh Wood | Program Manager at LM | Lockheed Martin |
| Tung-Han You | Mission System Manager (Acting) | Jet Propulsion Laboratory, NASA |
VERITAS Public Engagement
| Name | Role | Institution |
|---|---|---|
| Sandy Marshall | Public Engagement Specialist | Jet Propulsion Laboratory, NASA |
| Ian O’Neill | Media Relations Specialist | Jet Propulsion Laboratory, NASA |
