The Pisgah Astronomical Research Institute (PARI) has selected Dr. Chris Mullis to serve on its Board of Directors.
Dr. Mullis is the CEO and senior planner of NorthStar Capital Advisors, a financial life planning and asset management firm that has been advising individuals, families, and non-profit organizations for over a decade. He also serves as the CFO of Mullis Oil Company, a third-generation, family-owned, commercial fuel supplier.
“Chris Mullis is an accomplished scientist and business leader who will bring a valuable and rare combination of science and business acumen to our board,” said PARI Founder and President Don Cline. “A passionate advocate of science outreach, his career spans academia, the private sector, and five continents. PARI is currently developing a master plan that will guide and greatly expand our development over the coming years, and in that endeavor I have no doubt that Dr. Mullis will be a tremendous asset to our Board.”
Dr. Mullis was an astrophysicist for nearly two decades before taking a senior strategy position at Wells Fargo Bank and launching his own advisory firm. Beginning with an affinity for science sparked by a school fieldtrip to a small amateur observatory, Dr. Mullis went on to map the structure and evolution of the Universe using the largest telescopes on Earth and in space. He has a distinguished record of scientific discovery and has authored over forty publications in peer-reviewed journals.
He is a graduate of Providence Day School and currently serves as a vice chair of its Board of Trustees. He holds a B.A. with Highest Distinction in Physics and Astronomy from the University of Virginia, and a M.S. and Ph.D. in Astronomy from the University of Hawaii. Dr. Mullis currently resides in his native Charlotte with his wife and two children.
PARI, located in the Pisgah National Forest 30 miles southwest of Asheville, is a 200-acre science education and research center. The site houses radio and optical telescopes, earth science instruments and the Astronomical Photographic Data Archive. Exhibit galleries display NASA Space Shuttle artifacts and collections of rare meteorites and minerals. PARI provides STEM educational programs at all levels, from K-12 through post-graduate research.