Chabot Space & Science Center Announces Election of Michael Levi as Chair of JPA Board of Directors

OAKLAND, Calif., Jan. 13, 2012 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Chabot Space & Science Center announces the election of Michael Levi as Chair of the Joint Powers Agency (JPA) Board of Directors which governs Chabot along with the Oakland Unified School District, the City of Oakland, the East Bay Regional Park District, and the Eastbay Astronomical Society. Levi had been serving as Vice Chair of the JPA Board. He replaces Oakland Mayor Jean Quan at the end of her term as Chair. Mayor Quan remains on the board.

Levi is a practicing experimental astrophysicist and elementary particle physicist. He received his Ph.D. from Harvard University in 1984 and his B.A. from Harvard College in 1977. He is a Senior Scientist at the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (LBNL) and a Senior Space Fellow at the University of California Berkeley Space Sciences Laboratory.

"Michael's relationships and experience within the scientific research community will support his outstanding work furthering our mission. I look forward to working closely with him as we continue to build Chabot's outstanding science education programs," said Alexander Zwissler, CEO/Executive Director of Chabot Space & Science Center.

Levi leads an international team of scientists who are designing a new experiment, called BigBOSS, to study dark energy and the accelerating expansion of the Universe.  Levi was awarded Fellow of the American Physical Society, and has held positions at Stanford University, CERN (the European accelerator laboratory), and the Naval Research Laboratory.

"Jean Quan has limitless energy and enthusiasm and deftly guided Chabot Space & Science Center through tough budgets and on to great educational programs, as witnessed by our new award winning Bill Nye's Climate Lab.  I hope to infuse my passion for science into the institution," said Levi.

Levi lives in Oakland with his wife (also an astrophysicist) and two children. He enjoys skiing, tennis, backpacking, and flies high-powered rockets with his son.

Chabot Space & Science Center, a Smithsonian affiliate, and Bay Area Certified Green Business, is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit interactive science center whose mission is to inspire and educate students of all ages about Planet Earth and the Universe. Founded in 1883, the Center is located at 10000 Skyline Blvd. just off Highway 13 in the Oakland hills. For more information, visit www.chabotspace.org.

SOURCE Chabot Space & Science Center