John O’Meara
Deputy Director & Chief Scientist
John O’Meara is the Keck Observatory Deputy Director and Chief Scientist. He is Keck’s primary scientific liaison and is responsible for maintaining the relationship between the Observatory and its scientific stakeholders, including the observing community and federal funding agencies. He helps set the science policy for the Observatory and is responsible for identifying new partnership and funding opportunities.
John has a deep interest in ensuring the health and success of the field. He is a member of multiple national astronomical oversight and advisory committees. He has previously chaired the Astronomy and Astrophysics Advisory Committee, which reports to Congress on astronomy and astrophysics issues that are of mutual interest to the National Science Foundation, NASA, and the Department of Energy Office of Science. He has recently been appointed the Co-Chair of the Committee for Astronomy and Astrophysics for the National Academy of Sciences. John has previously served as the Cosmic Origins science team lead for the Large UV/Optical/IR Surveyor (LUVOIR) mission concept, and the Co-Chair of the Science Technology and Architecture Review Team for the Habitable Worlds Observatory, NASA’s next flagship mission. In addition to multiple awards during his career, in 2025 John was awarded the NASA Exceptional Public Service Medal.
John received his undergraduate degree in Physics from the University of Washington and his Masters and Ph.D. in Physics from the University of California at San Diego. He has been a Keck observer for over a quarter century. He is an experienced observational research astrophysicist, authoring more than 125 papers published in refereed journals about distant quasars, Big Bang nucleosynthesis, the intergalactic medium, galaxy formation and evolution, and more.
Education:
- University of Washington, B.S., Physics, 1997
- University of California, San Diego, M.S., Physics, 2000
- University of California, San Diego, Ph.D., Physics, 2004
Employment:
- Chief Scientist; W. M. Keck Observatory, Kamuela, HI; 2018-present
- Professor; Saint Michael’s College, Colchester, VT; 2008-2018
- Assistant Professor; Penn State University, Scranton, PA; 2006-2008
- Postdoctoral Researcher; MIT, Cambridge, MA; 2004-2006
Research Interests:
- Big Bang Nucleosynthesis
- The Circumgalactic and Intergalactic Medium
- Galaxy Formation and Evolution
- Future Ground and Space Telescope Development
Awards & Recognition:
- NASA Exceptional Public Service Medal (2025)
- NASA Group Achievement Award for HWO START (2025)
- NASA Group Achievement Award LCRD/ORCAS (2025)
- NASA Group Achievement Award for LUVOIR (2022)
- AAAS Newcomb Cleveland Prize (2021)
- Elected member of the Vermont Academy of Science and Engineering
Professional Experience:
- Previous Co-Chair of the Science Technology and Architecture Review Team for NASA’s Habitable Worlds Observatory
- Previous Chair, Astronomy and Astrophysics Advisory Committee
- Previous Cosmic Origins Science Team Lead for the LUVOIR Large Mission Concept
- Member, Committee on Astronomy and Public Policy, AAS
- Previous Member, Thirty Meter Telescope ISDT
- Previous Chair, MAST Users Group
- Previous Chair, NASA Senior Review of Operating Missions (2022, 2025)
- Member, Senior Review of Operating Missions, NASA (2019)
- Member, SPRITE Cubesat Science Mission Team
- Previous Vice-Chair, NASA COPAG Executive Committee
- Panelist/Chair, Extragalactic Astronomy, NASA Keck TAC
- Frequent panel member & panel chair for NASA, NSF, STScI proposal reviews
- Member, Science team, NASA Explorer-class mission proposal (2011, 2016)
- 125+ refereed publications and multiple large funded grants as principal investigator
- 25+ years of ground and space-based observing experience