Kepler & K2
There have been personnel changes at the Kepler and K2 Project Scientist role.
Effective August 15, Dr. Natalie Batalha became the new Kepler Project Scientist. Natalie has been a member of the Kepler team since the proposal stages and has served as Kepler Mission Scientist for the past several years.
Effective September 6, Dr. Jessie Dotson assumed the role of K2 Project Scientist. Jessie was formally the Deputy Science Office Director for Kepler and has most recently served as Astrophysics Branch Chief in the Space Science and Astrobiology Division at NASA Ames.
Together, they replace Dr. Steve Howell who served as Kepler Project Scientist since 2010 and K2 Project Scientist since mission conception. Steve has done a superb job as the Kepler/K2 Project Scientist, with notable leadership in catalyzing the science community to support the extended K2 mission, and will take on new work outside the Kepler/K2 missions, while continuing to be an active contributor to the science of the missions.