I co-chair the Committee on Astronomy and Astrophysics of the National Research Council’s Board on Physics and Astronomy, of which I am also a member. I am a member of the American Astronomical Society’s Committee on Astronomy and Public Policy. I have served on the NRC Space Studies Board (2000-2004), the NRC Task Group for Space Astronomy and Astrophysics (1997), and NASA’s Space Science Advisory Committee (1995-1999).
In 2004-2005 I chaired the NRC ad hoc Committee to Assess Progress Toward the Decadal Vision in Astronomy and Astrophysics, known colloquially as the Mid-Course Review committee. Our report described the remarkable scientific advances of the previous 5 years, summarized the technological advances that will enable future missions and facilities in astronomy and astrophysics, and assessed the nation’s progress toward achieving the vision outlined in the NRC’s Astronomy and Astrophysics for the New Millenium, supplemented by the NRC’s From Quarks to the Cosmos