Joan T. Schmelz

Joan T. Schmelz is the associate director for science and public outreach at the Stratospheric Observatory for Infrared Astronomy (SOFIA) for the Universities Space Research Association (USRA). Previously, Schmelz was the deputy director of Arecibo Observatory and director of USRA Operations at Arecibo from 2015 to 2018. Before joining USRA, Schmelz was an NSF program director in the Astronomical Sciences Division, where she oversaw the Astronomy & Astrophysics Postdoctoral Fellowship program, and a professor of physics at the University of Memphis from 1996 to 2017. Schmelz's research focus is heliophysics, specifically investigating the coronal heating problem as well as the properties and dynamics of the solar atmosphere. She uses spectroscopic and image data in the X-ray and ultraviolet wavelength ranges obtained from NASA satellites and rockets. In December 2015, Schmelz was named by the scientific journal Nature as one of the ten people who mattered in 2015 because of her significant work as a voice for women in science, specifically because of her behind-the-scenes efforts to expose sexual harassment in science.

Education and career Joan T. Schmelz obtained her bachelor's degree in physics at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in 1980 and stayed for an additional two years to complete a master's degree in physics. Her master's thesis was titled "Variability in T Tauri Stars". During her time as a master's student, she won the physics department award for outstanding teaching.