Scott Dahm Appointed Director of International Gemini Observatory

April 24, 2025

We are pleased to announce that Scott Dahm has been appointed Director of the International Gemini Observatory, funded in part by the U.S. National Science Foundation and operated by NSF NOIRLab. He will relocate to the island of Hawai’i in July of this year.

In February 2024 former Gemini director Jennifer Lotz left to become Director of the Space Telescope Science Institute. Dahm, who was serving as the Gemini Deputy Director at the time, was appointed Interim Director for Gemini while a search was conducted. In the spring of 2024, NOIRLab assembled an international search committee with members from the Gemini partner countries, including Canada, Korea, and the U.S., along with people working in Hawai’i and Chile. Most of the committee members were in observatory leadership positions and two were affiliated with the Gemini Observatory. The committee conducted a worldwide search and considered a large number of potential candidates.

Dahm was the unanimous selection of the search committee following both rounds of interviews. His experience at Keck Observatory, the U.S. Naval Observatory, and at Gemini makes him exceptionally well prepared for the role. He has extensive experience in observatory operations, working with government agencies, engagement with the local community, and interacting with the other observatories on the island of Hawai’i. Dahm is highly attuned to the needs of the international Gemini partners and their funding agencies.

NOIRLab looks forward to working with Dahm as Gemini continues its mission to explore the Universe and share its wonders.

More information 

NSF NOIRLab, the U.S. National Science Foundation center for ground-based optical-infrared astronomy, operates the International Gemini Observatory (a facility of NSF, NRC–Canada, ANID–Chile, MCTIC–Brazil, MINCyT–Argentina, and KASI–Republic of Korea), NSF Kitt Peak National Observatory (KPNO), NSF Cerro Tololo Inter-American Observatory (CTIO), the Community Science and Data Center (CSDC), and NSF–DOE Vera C. Rubin Observatory (in cooperation with DOE’s SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory). It is managed by the Association of Universities for Research in Astronomy (AURA) under a cooperative agreement with NSF and is headquartered in Tucson, Arizona. 

The scientific community is honored to have the opportunity to conduct astronomical research on I’oligam Du’ag (Kitt Peak) in Arizona, on Maunakea in Hawai‘i, and on Cerro Tololo and Cerro Pachón in Chile. We recognize and acknowledge the very significant cultural role and reverence of I’oligam Du’ag to the Tohono O’odham Nation, and Maunakea to the Kanaka Maoli (Native Hawaiians) community.

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