Sebag brings over three decades of expertise in global astronomical observatory operations
Maunakea, Hawaiʻi – Jacques Sebag has joined the W. M. Keck Observatory as its Chief Engineer and Operations Officer, effective September 15. Sebag has over 30 years of experience in operations and engineering leadership at premier astronomical observatories around the world.
Most recently, Sebag led global engineering efforts at the Vera C. Rubin Observatory atop Cerro Pachón, Chile, as Assembly, Integration, and Verification (AIV) and Engineering Manager He played a pivotal role in the development of the Legacy Survey of Space and Time (LSST), helping guide the project from early design through final NSF approval and its construction.
This is a homecoming of sorts for Sebag, a returning member of the Maunakea Observatories ʻohana. He was involved in the integration, commissioning, and operations of the International Gemini Telescope in Hawaiʻi (as well as its sister telescope in Chile) and before that supported telescope operations and visiting astronomers for the Canada-France-Hawaiʻi Telescope.
In his new role at Keck Observatory, Sebag will lead engineering and operations to ensure safe, sustainable, and high-performing observatory systems.
“Jacques brings deep experience in observatory engineering and operations that will help guide Keck into its next phase of technological advancement,” said Rich Matsuda, Director of Keck Observatory. “I look forward to the insight and care he will bring to our observatory ʻohana in advancing our mission.”
“Keck Observatory has an important role to play in the future of astronomy, as it has since it was built,” Sebag said. “In over three decades of design, construction, and operation of world-class observatories, I am extremely pleased and honored to be part of the team at Keck. I’m excited to work with the team to keep advancing the frontier of discovery.”
Sebag met and married his wife Renee in Hawaiʻi and partly raised their four children on Hawaiʻi Island. His older daughter and family live on Maui. His older son is a beekeeper in Hāmākua on Hawaiʻi Island where he lives with his family. His two other children live on the mainland. Being close to family and their grandchildren is a real pleasure that was missing by living in Chile.
ABOUT W. M. KECK OBSERVATORY
The W. M. Keck Observatory telescopes are among the most scientifically productive on Earth. The two 10-meter optical/infrared telescopes atop Maunakea on the Island of Hawaiʻi feature a suite of advanced instruments including imagers, multi-object spectrographs, high-resolution spectrographs, integral-field spectrometers, and world-leading laser guide star adaptive optics systems. Keck Observatory is a private 501(c) 3 non-profit organization operated as a scientific partnership among the California Institute of Technology, the University of California, and the National Aeronautics and Space Administration. The Observatory was made possible by the generous financial support of the W. M. Keck Foundation. We wish to recognize and acknowledge the very significant cultural role and reverence that the summit of Maunakea has always had within the Native Hawaiian community. We are most fortunate to have the opportunity to conduct observations from this mountain. For more information, visit: www.keckobservatory.org