Raja GuhaThakurta (he/him) is the CrEST Faculty Director/Founder and the founder of the CrEST programs StS, PyaR, SIP, and the Global SPHERE Network. He is a Distinguished Professor of Astronomy and Astrophysics at UCSC. He and his students conduct research in observational astrophysics – their areas of interest include the structure, dynamics, formation, and evolution of the stellar halos and stellar disks of galaxies, galactic archaeology, dark matter, dwarf galaxies, chemical enrichment, and rare phases of stellar evolution. This research makes extensive use of the Keck telescopes, Hubble Space Telescope, James Webb Space Telescope, Lick Observatory Shane telescope, Canada-France-Hawaii Telescope, Subaru Telescope, etc. Beyond the CrEST programs, he has served as an instructor for the COSMOS program for many years and currently serves as an instructor for the Project for Inmate Education at Santa Cruz County Jail. Raja and his spouse live in the Bay Area. Their daughter is a PhD student on the East Coast. In his imaginary spare time, Raja enjoys spending time with his family, art (detailed portraiture), and playing/watching a variety of sports.