Interim Positions Announced for MKAEC Project

Dr. Rose Y. Tseng, chancellor of the University of Hawaiʻi at Hilo, today announced the selection of Chong Gu as the interim program manager for the Mauna Kea Astronomy Education Center (MKAEC) project. Gu replaces former project director George Jacob. Additionally, Dr. Walter Steiger will serve as interim senior advisor until a new director is selected.

"The Mauna Kea Astronomy Education Center remains on track as we continue to move forward on various aspects of this project," said Tseng. "UH Hilo is firmly committed to seeing the center through to completion."

Gu previously served as MKAEC fiscal officer, a position he held since October 2002. He received both MBA and MA degrees in economics from the University of Hawaiʻi at Manoa, and worked in Honolulu for 11 years where he held senior management positions in accounting and financial reporting.

Steiger, an affiliate professor in physics and astronomy at UH Hilo, assisted in MKAEC‘s early development as interim co-director in 2001. He retired from UH Manoa in 1980 and was a member of the UH Board of Regents from 1982 to 1986. He also served as manager of the Science Center of the Bishop Museum and later as site manager of the Caltech Submillimeter Observatory on Mauna Kea.