astrophysics data system
Dr. Kelly Lockhart
Kelly Lockhart is the technical lead for the Astrophysics Data System (ADS)/Science Explorer (SciX), where she oversees software development, infrastructure, and operations for a platform widely used to discover and analyze the astrophysics literature. She leads a multidisciplinary team spanning front-end and back-end development, search, APIs, and AI/ML pipelines, with a focus on improving information retrieval and enabling new forms of scientific discovery through large-scale data systems.
Kelly has been with ADS/SciX since 2017, previously serving as back-end lead and software engineer. She completed her PhD at the Institute for Astronomy at the University of Hawai‘i at Mānoa, where her research focused on high-resolution observations of galactic centers. In addition to her technical leadership, she is actively involved in the research community, helping organize workshops at the intersection of language AI and the space sciences.