We are excited to announce the launch of the Asteroid Institute at B612. This Institute is a dedicated scientific and technical academic program that will further our commitment to prevent asteroid impacts. The Asteroid Institute is set-up as a virtual organization that has a close collaboration with the University of Washington in addition to our sponsored research at SwRI, Caltech and other institutions. All of B612’s scientific and technological projects will be conducted through the Institute. The Institute will enable us to bring various voices together to help us and others move the field of planetary defense forward. B612 will be the umbrella organization of the Asteroid Institute and will continue to focus on fundraising activities to support both the Institute as well public education and advocacy around planetary defense.

Ed Lu will now lead the Institute as its founding Executive Director, working with a team of distributed planetary scientists and engineers, including several scientists from the Large Synoptic Survey Telescope (LSST) and the University of Washington’s Data Intensive Research in Astrophysics and Cosmology Center (DIRAC) Institute. Programs under the Institute include the Asteroid Decision Analysis Machine (ADAM); research into synthetic tracking to improve our ability to discover small asteroids; and analysis of a future small satellite constellation for detecting and tracking asteroids. We also have researchers dedicated to planetary defense working out of DIRAC and other institutions in the future which we will fund. Have a look at our growing Asteroid Institute team here.

With Ed serving as the Institute’s Executive Director, I have moved into Ed’s former role as President of B612. This move allows Ed the room to focus on leading the scientific, research and technological priorities. After five exciting years managing our growth and operations, I am looking forward to working more closely with partners and organizations in the asteroid field as well as helping hone our strategy for the coming years.

I hope you share my excitement for this important moment for B612. We are confident that this launch will provide us with a focused framework and world-class resources to help us fulfill our mission.

Danica Remy
President, B612
Board Director, B612
Co-Founder, Asteroid Day