The National Center for Competence in Research, PlanetS: A Swiss-wide network expanding planetary sciences

Willy Benz, professor emeritus at the University of Bern in Switzerland and currently president of the International Astronomical Union. Benz was the director of the National Center for Competence in Research, PlanetS, for the first two phases of its activity. He is an expert on numerical methods in planetary formation and was the principal investigator of the CHEOPS mission for studying exoplanet transits.

Maria Schönbächler is Professor of Isotope Geochemistry at ETH Zurich and a leading expert in meteoritics. Her research applies isotopic techniques to meteorites to provide fundamental constraints on models of planet formation and evolution.

Stephane Udry is professor of observational astronomy at the University of Geneva and co-director of the National Center for Competence in Research, PlanetS, since its inception in 2014. He is a leading observer of exoplanet systems using the radial velocity method and a member of the PLATO science team.

Nicolas Thomas is professor of experimental physics at the University of Bern and director of NCCR Planets for the final phase. He has expertise in space-borne solar system remote sensing including being principal investigator of the CaSSIS instrument on the ExoMars Trace Gas Orbiter.