Programme

Over the past sixteen years, he has contributed to ALMA’s scientific operations, technical development, and strategic planning, with a focus on improving the observatory’s data quality and scientific reach.

At ALMA, Dr. Villard has held several leadership positions, including Commissioning Scientist, Lead of Science Verification, Lead of Data Processing, and Lead of the Development of New Scientific Capabilities. He currently leads the Advanced Data Product Initiative at ESO/ALMA, which aims to enhance the accessibility and scientific value of ALMA data for the research community. He also represents Europe in the ALMA Integrated Development Team, coordinating long-term development activities across the international partnership.

Before joining ESO, Dr. Villard worked on the Venus Express mission, where he used the SPICAV ultraviolet/near-infrared spectrometer to study the Venusian atmosphere and its composition. Building on this experience, his current interests extend toward the next generation of observatories. He leads the Space Array Initiative and the SHARP proposal, which explore the extension of submillimeter interferometry into space to achieve higher angular resolution and more complete coverage.

Dr. Villard’s work focuses on advanced data products, interferometric imaging, and the technological and operational developments that will define the future of radio astronomy, both on the ground and in orbit.

Michael Schmitt received his Dipl.-Ing. (Univ.) degree in geodesy and geoinformation, his Dr.-Ing. degree in remote sensing, and his habilitation in data fusion from the Technical University of Munich (TUM), Germany, in 2009, 2014, and 2018, respectively. Since 2021, he has been a Full Professor for Earth Observation at the Department of Aerospace Engineering of the University of the Bundeswehr Munich (UniBw M) in Neubiberg, Germany. He is a also a member of the Research Center SPACE and the Institute of Space Technology & Space Applications of UniBw M. 

From 2020 to 2022, he additionally held the position of a Consulting Senior Scientist at the Remote Sensing Technology Institute of the German Aerospace Center (DLR). He contributes to the scientific community as a co-chair of the Working Group “Active Microwave Sensing” of the ISPRS. Besides, he is a Senior Member of the IEEE and an Associate Editor of the IEEE Geoscience and Remote Sensing Magazine. Michael Schmitt’s research lies at the intersection of synthetic aperture radar (SAR) remote sensing and computer vision/machine learning for the extraction of information from signals and images. He has published more than 200 scientific articles and filed several patents.  

He is a Senior European Space Manager with over 20 years of experience in general management, engineering, site leadership, and space systems development. Known for strategic leadership, transformation initiatives, and cross-national team integration.

At ESA, Dr. Pilz leads a team of over 950 staff and 200 contractors, overseeing engineering and quality resources for all missions, R&D programs (GSTP, TDE, Discovery), and ESA’s educational initiatives. He chairs the European Cooperation for Space Standardization and drives ESA’s technology strategy, including AI and serialization centers. As Head of ESTEC, he manages Europe’s largest space technology center, representing ESA in the Netherlands and overseeing site operations, safety, and public engagement. 

At Airbus Defence & Space, he held leadership roles including Head of Space Chief Engineering, Head of Site Friedrichshafen, and Head of Payloads and Life Support Systems. He led multinational teams, managed large-scale R&D and product lines (Astrobus, Eurostar Neo, OneSat), and spearheaded digital transformation in engineering and data management.

Earlier, he worked in border security systems in Saudi Arabia, naval radar development, and space electronics for TerraSAR-X.