VERITAS Team

VERITAS team photo collage
Some key members of the VERITAS team (left to right, top first): Joern Helbert, Darby Dyar, Sue Smrekar, Luciano Iess, Scott Hensley.
NASA/JPL-Caltech

VERITAS Mission Leadership

Dr. Sue Smrekar, VERITAS Principal Investigator

Dr. Smrekar is a 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. Her 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 sits for a photo in a garden. She's wearing a blue top with the VERITAS logo.
VERITAS Principal Investigator Dr. Sue Smrekar.
NASA/JPL-Caltech

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.

Darby Dyar wears an orange blazer, dark slacks, and a multi-colored scarf as she stands on a stage with decorative panels behind her that have circles of various sizes. The backs of heads of some spectators in the audience also can be seen.
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
Jörn Helbert
Co-Investigator
Deutsches Zentrum für Luft- und Raumfahrt (DLR), Berlin
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
Wesleyan University
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
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
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
Dorothy Lewis
Mission Assurance Manager
Jet Propulsion Laboratory, NASA
Rick Nybakken
Project Manager
Jet Propulsion Laboratory, NASA
Angelo Olivieri
Program Manager at ASI
Gisbert Peter
VEM Instrument Manager at DLR
Adnan Selod
Business Manager
Mark Wallace
Mission Design Manager
Jet Propulsion Laboratory, NASA
Josh Wood
Program Manager at LM
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
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