Andy Sheinis named CFHT Interim Director

The Canada-France-Hawaii Telescope Board of Directors is pleased to announce the appointment of Dr. Andy Sheinis to the position of CFHT’s interim Executive Director effective September 1st. Sheinis currently serves as CFHT’s Director of Engineering, a position he’s held for the past four years.

“The next several months are critical as we navigate through the COVID-19 pandemic while continuing to provide world-class science to our user community.,” said Sheinis. “Launching CFHT into our transition period between executive directors is a great responsibility, one that I look forward to tackling.”

Prior to his position at CFHT, Sheinis was the Head of Instrumentation at the Australian Astronomical Observatory and an adjunct Associate Professor at the University of Sydney. He began his career in Hawaii over 30 years ago working as a senior engineer for the University of Hawaii Institute for Astronomy where he led the site survey for the AEOS telescope on Maui.

“Due to his established position within the organization and astronomy community at large, the CFHT board of directors has confidence in Andy’s ability to lead CFHT as interim director,” said Dr. Howard Yee, University of Toronto astronomer and chair of the CFHT Board of Directors. “The board appreciates Andy agreeing to serve as interim director and look forward to working with him over the coming months.”

Recruitment for CFHT’s new executive director is underway. Announcements regarding the search will occur to keep the CFHT user community up-to-date.

Media Contact

Mary Beth Laychak
Canada-France-Hawai'i Telescope
laychak@cfht.hawaii.edu