UARC Management

Dr. Chemers is the Co-Vice Provost for UCSC Silicon Valley Initiatives along with Dr. Margaret Delaney.  Together they oversee the conception, development, and implementation of UCSC’s programs and partnerships in Silicon Valley, including oversight the existing UARC, ASL, BIN-RDI, and innovative educational partnerships.  

Dr. Chemers is the former Acting Chancellor of UC Santa Cruz.  He has also served as the UCSC Dean for Social Sciences, and as the Chair of the Pyschology Department.  In these roles, Chemers has overseen the creation of numerous new academic research and educational programs, including mult-disciplinary programs such as the UCSC Center for Global Justice, Tolerance, and Community and the STEPS Institute.  Chemers is also the former Director of the Kravis Leadership Institute at Claremonet McKenna College, where he was also a member of the Pyschology Department prior to his arrival at UCSC.  Additionally Chemers was professor of Psychology at the University of Utah.

Chemers is a social psychologist with interests in leadership and team and organizational effectiveness. Much of his work has addressed how cultural and personality characteristics of leaders and followers affect the intrapersonal and interpersonal processes that give rise to highly motivated and effective teams. Also of central interest are factors that influence the leadership effectiveness of "nontraditional" leaders such as women and minority-group members. Chemers' current research is focused on the “leadership efficacy” which refers to confidence in one's leadership ability. High efficacy leaders are seen as highly effective by superiors, peers, and subordinates; are able to persevere in the face of difficult and stressful circumstances; and have a strong influence on the collective efficacy of followers and teammates.

Martin Chemers received his Ph.D in Pyschology from the Unversity of Illinois, Urbana.

As the Executive Director Silicon Valley Initiatives (SVI), William Berry is leading the efforts of UCSC and its academic partners in developing and implementing the University Associates initiative at the NASA Research Park in a public-private partnership with NASA Ames.  He also provides executive oversight for the UARC including policy matters, program development, liaison with NASA senior management and supports the UCSC Vice Provost for SVI with coordination of NASA related research programs and initiatives.

William Berry has over 30 years of experience with NASA in managing large research projects. He served as the Deputy Director at Ames Research Center for five years, and is a recipient of both the Distinguished and Meritorious Senior Executive Service Presidential Rank Awards.

Bill Berry has a BS in Mechanical Engineering, with graduate study in aerospace systems, and an MS in Management from Stanford University, Graduate School of Business.

As Executive Director of the UARC, Dr. Al-Ali will provide executive leadership in its mission for and special relationship with NASA Ames as it conducts research in: Aerospace Systems (which includes air traffic management and rotorcraft research), Earth Sciences, Information Sciences, Space Sciences, and Nanotechnology.  The contract between the University of California and NASA currently anchors UC’s presence in Silicon Valley and is a foundational element in the growing UCSC/Ames partnerships.  We expect Dr. Al-Ali to play a critical role to help grow the UARC’s stature and impact in support of the mission of Ames, help assure its continuance as the foundational element of our growing partnership and also to develop new mutually beneficial relationships both within and outside of UC.  Dr. Al-Ali will oversee 140 scientists, engineers and administrative staff affiliated with the UARC contract. 

Since 2003, Dr. Al-Ali has served as Director of Research at Carnegie Mellon University’s Silicon Valley Campus at Moffett Field, CA.   In that role, he oversees projects involving advanced aircraft and spacecraft technologies, intelligent avionics, novel power systems, planetary rovers and robots, spacecraft, and autonomous exploratory vehicles for Lunar, Martian, and Antarctic missions. With deep expertise in Mechanical, Electrical, and Aerospace Engineering, he has lead multidisciplinary, award-winning and high profile NASA projects as Principal Investigator and is the principal UAV test pilot for the Adaptive Control and Evolvable Systems Group at NASA Ames Research Center.  While a scientist at the Universities of Colorado and California and a faculty member in the University of Qatar, he has worked extensively and lead efforts in robotics, controls, acoustics for various multi-media systems, space shuttle payload systems, and medical systems.  Dr. Al-Ali holds a Ph.D. in Mechanical and Electrical Engineering from the University of California at Berkeley.

As the Director of Business Operations, Cynthia Sanchez is responsible for the finance, subcontracting/compliance, and human resources functions at the UARC. These areas include management and operations in the areas of financial oversight and reporting, contract and subcontract development and compliance review, and staff and academic human resource administration.

Prior to joining the UARC, Ms. Sanchez was the Operations Manager for UCSC’s Silicon Valley Center. In that position, she developed a strong working knowledge and excellent working relationships with both UCSC campus management as well as NASA Ames management. Before joining UCSC, she held various positions at DeVry University including Director of Graduate Admissions, Center Dean/Center Director, well as Adjunct Faculty in the Undergraduate Business Department.

Ms. Sanchez received her BS in Finance from De La Salle University in Manila, Philippines, and her MBA from Keller Graduate School of Management.

As Director of the Systems Teaching Institute, Dr. Natalie Batalha is responsible for administering student research internships under the auspices of the UARC.  Dr. Batalha is currently Assistant Professor of Physics and Astronomy at San Jose State University.  She has been affiliated with NASA Ames Research Center since 2000 where she conducts research on extrasolar planet detection.  She is the Principal Investigator of the Vulcan planet search project.  The Vulcan team runs and operates a robotic telescope atop Mt. Hamilton at Lick Observatory.  Its objective is to identify giant planets orbiting other sun-like stars.  She also works as a support scientist for the Kepler mission.  Kepler is a NASA Discovery mission whose objective is to identify and characterize earth-like planets orbiting sun-like stars.  Dr. Batalha received her Bachelor's degree is Physics from the University of California, Berkeley, and her Ph.D. in Astrophysics from the University of California, Santa Cruz

Dr. Burney Le Boeuf leads a team of Core Research Directors (CRDs) comprised of UC Scientists. This team of distinguished and knowledgeable faculty provides advice and planning assistance for the cross-cutting, multidisciplinary, and integrative research program critical for the success of the UARC. Dr. Le Boeuf is responsible for coordinating and guiding the activities of the CRDs, chairing them in meetings and establishing the process for soliciting, reviewing proposals and then recommending the allocation of funds from the UARC’s discretionary research program.

Burney Le Boeuf is a Research Professor who has been a faculty member in Biology and the Institute for Marine Sciences at UC Santa Cruz since 1968. Since 2000 he has been associated with the Office for Research, first as Interim Vice Chancellor for Research, and since 2001, as Associate Vice Chancellor for Research

Le Boeuf is well known for his research on the behavioral ecology and physiology of marine mammals. He has published over 157 peer reviewed articles and authored three books. He received his BA and PhD from the University of California, Berkeley.

Michael Isaacson received his B.S. degree in Engineering Physics with highest honors from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and his Ph.D. in Physics from the University of Chicago.

He has been on the scientific staff in the Division of Biology at Brookhaven National Laboratory and a member of the faculty of the Physics Department and the Enrico Fermi Institute at the University of Chicago and the School of Applied and Engineering Physics at Cornell University before moving to UCSC in 2003. 

He has published over 150 peer reviewed articles and book chapters and is currently working on a text entitled "Nanocharacterization of Materials". His research interests include  development of novel nanocharacterization tools using electron, photon and ion optics and the fabrication of nano/microdevices for biomedical applications.
Prof. Isaacson has been President of the Microscopy Society of America and is currently Secretary/Treasurer of the Engineering Research Council of the American Society for Engineering Education. Some of his numerous awards are an Alexander von Humboldt Senior Scientist award, Sloan Foundation Faculty Fellow, the Burton Medal from the Microscopy Society of America, the Rank Prize in Optoelectronics and he has been elected a Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science.

He is currently the Narinder Singh Kapany Professor of Optoelectronics and chair of the Department of Electrical Engineering at the University of California at Santa Cruz.

Dr. Bassam Musaffar is the Technical Area Manager for Aerospace Systems research. Dr. Musaffar manages a group of UCSC Scientist conducting research that has an emphasis on airspace automated operations and management system concepts. He is leading a team that is developing pioneering concepts and technological solutions in aerospace operations.

Dr. Musaffar has extensive experience in aeronautics applications development, human factors research development support, engineering, and in the management of multiple projects. Prior to joining UCSC Bassam Musaffar held positions in the private sector where his range of expertise ran from designing automatic control systems to financial engineering software for investment banking. He has published extensively and in 1993 received the best technical paper award at NASA Ames. Dr. Musaffar received a BSEE, MSEE, and a PhD in Electrical and Computer Engineering from the University of Missouri.

Jeff Myers is the Technical Area Manager for Earth Science Research and Instrumentation.  He manages the Airborne Science and Technology Laboratory (ASTL) at Ames, which is engaged in the development and operation of prototype remote sensing systems for the NASA Earth Science Division.  This includes a staff of engineers and data analysts that collect imagery around the world in support of global climate process studies.   They also engage in disaster response activities, such as mapping wild fires and the impact of severe storms.  The ASTL is currently developing sensor systems for unmanned aerial vehicles, intended for environmental observations.

Mr. Myers has been supporting NASA airborne science at Ames since 1978, when he was the principle digital imagery analyst for the U-2/ER-2 aircraft program.  He became manager of the Airborne Sensor Facility in 1989, when it began developing the MODIS and ASTER airborne instruments, and continues to work closely with many of the leading Earth scientists in the Agency.

He received a B.A. degree in Geography from U.C. Berkeley in 1976, and has co-authored numerous papers on remote sensing systems and their applications.