AUI is a nonprofit research management corporation founded in 1946 by a consortium of universities. It plans, builds and operates research facilities serving the international scientific community, working across radio astronomy, energy research and STEM education. The organisation is headquartered in Vienna, Virginia, and describes itself as operating on the principle of collaboration across institutions, governments and industries.
Central to AUI's work is its stewardship of the National Radio Astronomy Observatory (NRAO), which manages some of the most sophisticated radio telescope facilities on Earth. These include the Very Large Array (VLA) and the Very Long Baseline Array (VLBA) in the United States, the Green Bank Observatory, and the ALMA Observatory in Chile, which AUI oversees through NRAO. Facilities under AUI management have contributed to six Nobel Prizes.
Technical domains within the organisation span radio astronomy, observatory operations and management, energy research, scientific facilities management, and STEM education and public engagement. AUI's Education and Public Engagement division runs STEM learning initiatives, workforce development programmes and public engagement efforts aimed at inspiring the next generation of scientists and engineers and contributing to a scientifically literate society.
As a 501(c)(3) organisation oriented toward public benefit, AUI emphasises community engagement and draws on a diversity of talent, skills, knowledge and resources from industry, academia and government. Its stated focus is on cultivating excellence and delivering operational value across its facilities and programmes.
