People of IPAC: New Leaders, New Roles, New Staff

There were many changes in the IPAC team in the second half of 2025. We filled nine positions with people who either joined IPAC afresh or with existing staff who transitioned to new roles. These included leadership changes with David Ciardi becoming the acting NExScI Executive Director, Meca Lynn appointed the Deputy Engineering Lead of the NASA Exoplanet Archive, Aurora Kesseli named the Deputy Lead Scientist in NASA's Exoplanet Archive.

Personnel joining IPAC or assuming new roles included:

• Judith Adler -- Pipeline Operator
• Patricia Jayne DeWitt -- Deputy Finance Manager
• Benjamin Fulton -- Application Developer
• Michael Jones -- Staff Scientist
• Troy Raen -- Data Science Lead
• Ishan Mishra -- Staff Scientist

Departures

• Chas Beichman -- Stepping down as NExScI Director