PASADENA, Calif., Nov. 04, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The GMTO Corporation, the 501(c)(3) nonprofit and international consortium building the Giant Magellan Telescope, today announced a leadership transition on its Board of Directors. After nearly a decade of leadership as chair, Dr. Walter Massey is retiring. The board has elected Dr. Taft Armandroff as its new chair and Nobel Laureate Dr. Brian Schmidt as vice chair.
Dr. Massey’s tenure guided the Giant Magellan Telescope through key design and construction milestones, helped secure nearly $500 million in private and public funding, and expanded the international consortium from 11 to 16 members. A physicist, educator, and national science leader, Dr. Massey has held transformative roles including director of the National Science Foundation, director of Argonne National Laboratory, president of Morehouse College and the School of the Art Institute of Chicago, and member of the Board of Regents of the Smithsonian Institution. He has also served on the boards of BP, the Rand Corporation, and the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, and was chairman of Bank of America. Dr. Massey will remain actively involved in the observatory’s success as special advisor to the GMTO Corporation, and his legacy will be celebrated by leaders in science, art, education, philanthropy, and government at the inaugural Giant Magellan Gala in November at the Adler Planetarium.
“It has been an honor guiding the Giant Magellan Telescope through this defining chapter,” said Dr. Massey. “This next generation observatory stands at the intersection of global collaboration and curiosity. I’m deeply proud of what we’ve achieved together, and I look forward to seeing the telescope reach first light under Taft’s leadership.”
Dr. Armandroff is a distinguished leader in astronomy, observatory operations, and instrumentation. He currently serves as director of the McDonald Observatory and professor of astronomy at The University of Texas at Austin, holding the Frank and Susan Bash Endowed Chair. Prior to UT Austin, he served as observatory director at the W.M. Keck Observatory and associate director of the National Optical Astronomy Observatory (now known as NOIRLab). He has been recognized with prestigious honors, including the Distinguished Alumnus Award at Wesleyan University, the AURA Science Award, and the Dirk Brouwer Prize at Yale.
Dr. Armandroff’s research focuses on dwarf spheroidal galaxies, globular clusters, and stellar populations in the Milky Way and nearby galaxies. As a long-serving board member and former vice chair of the GMTO Corporation Board of Directors since 2016, he has played a central role in guiding strategic initiatives behind the Giant Magellan Telescope.
“Walter’s leadership over the last decade has been truly inspiring,” said Dr. Armandroff. “He built a strong foundation for one of the most ambitious scientific instruments ever conceived. I am deeply grateful to our international consortium for entrusting me with this role and look forward to working together to bring the Giant Magellan Telescope to life.”
As vice chair, Dr. Brian Schmidt brings extensive international scientific leadership to the Giant Magellan Telescope. A Nobel Laureate in Physics for his groundbreaking work on the accelerating expansion of the Universe, he is a distinguished professor of astronomy at the Australian National University and served as vice chancellor and president of ANU, where he advanced major research initiatives and international collaborations. Dr. Schmidt is widely recognized for his leadership in large-scale astronomy projects, public engagement in science, and advocacy for global scientific partnerships. He is also a recipient of the Shaw Prize, Gruber Prize, and Breakthrough Prize in Fundamental Physics.
“The Giant Magellan Telescope shows what the international astronomy community can accomplish together,” Dr. Schmidt said. “I am honored to work alongside Taft and the GMTO Corporation Board of Directors as we take the next step toward a new era of discovery that will transform our understanding of the Universe.”
With this leadership transition, the board reaffirms its commitment to completing the next phase of construction — with more than 40% of the project already underway — advancing toward a successful National Science Foundation Final Design Review and continuing to secure the private and public funding needed to bring the observatory to completion in the 2030s.
About
The Giant Magellan Telescope is the future of ground-based astronomy. Using seven of the world’s largest mirrors, the 25.4-meter telescope will deliver the most detailed images of the Universe ever taken. It will uncover the cosmic mysteries of dark matter, investigate the origins of the chemical elements, and search for signs of life on distant planets. The Giant Magellan is the work of the GMTO Corporation, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit and international consortium of 16 universities and research institutions including the University of Arizona, Carnegie Institution for Science, The University of Texas at Austin, Korea Astronomy and Space Science Institute, University of Chicago, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, São Paulo Research Foundation, Texas A&M University, Northwestern University, Harvard University, Astronomy Australia Ltd., Australian National University, Smithsonian Institution, Weizmann Institute of Science, Academia Sinica Institute of Astronomy and Astrophysics, and Arizona State University. The observatory is under construction in Chile, with major components manufactured in the United States, and will be completed in the 2030s. The Universe Awaits at giantmagellan.org.
Media Contact
Ryan Kallabis
Senior Director of Communications and Outreach
Giant Magellan Telescope
rkallabis@gmto.org
A photo accompanying this announcement is available at https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/684e59c9-5715-4d31-ae46-eb708e825fce
