Dear DiRAC supporters,

Welcome to 2025 and to a new installment of our newsletter.

And what a year it’s been so far! In October of last year, after almost two decades of research, development, and construction, we welcomed the first engineering light with the test camera at the Rubin Observatory. The first image, unveiled at the January American Astronomical Society’s meeting by Rubin Construction director and UW DiRAC Faculty Prof. Zeljko Ivezic, shows the potential of the observatory and foreshadows the next decade of discovery. We’re now working towards the first light with Rubin’s main camera, and marching towards the end of this year when Rubin will embark on its 10 year mission to map the Universe in both space and time.

Read more about Rubin, events at the Institute, profiles of our excellent DiRAC team members, as well as how our Prof. Nora Shipp won a Scialog Collaborative Innovation Award, in the main part of this newsletter.

But before I let you go, there’s one more thing… Following nearly five years of being at the helm of DiRAC, it’s a privilege to welcome Prof. Jim Davenport as the new incoming Director! Jim is Research Associate Professor in the department of Astronomy, and has been DiRAC’s Associate Director for nearly all of my tenure. His impact on the institute cannot be underestimated: from revitalizing our time-domain program to leading numerous outreach and education initiatives — including the highly successful DiRAC Undergraduate Summer Prize program.

As I prepare to take a Rubin-focused sabbatical next year, I’m incredibly grateful to Jim for agreeing to step up and take on this responsibility. As we finally enter the age of Rubin, there’s no one better I can imagine to lift the Institute to new heights!

Onwards and upwards,

Mario Jurić
DiRAC Director
Professor, Department of Astronomy