Dr. Kathryn Flanagan has been appointed deputy director of the Space Telescope Science Institute (STScI), the science operations center for the Hubble and James Webb space telescopes.

Flanagan had been the institute's acting deputy director since January. She came to STScI in 2007 to lead the mission of the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) — scheduled to launch in 2018 — where she was responsible for the development and operations of the JWST Science and Operations Center.

"Kathy lives and breathes space science and has enormous experience working with NASA and the Science Mission Directorate," said institute Director Dr. Matt Mountain. "Importantly, Kathy brings to the STScI management team a deep personal understanding and commitment to the role the institute plays in supporting the science community."

Flanagan earned her bachelor's degree and PhD in physics at MIT, where she began working in x-ray astronomy, with special interest in supernova remnants and the development of new instruments in space. She became part of the science research staff at Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics and MIT and has worked on flight instruments for the Einstein Observatory, for the Chandra X-ray Observatory and for the future International X-ray Observatory.

For more information, visit: www.stsci.edu