SOFIA Tomorrow: Understanding Star Formation in the Era of JWST and ALMA

As SOFIA has evolved from a development project into a fully functional observatory, important advances have been made in several areas of topical astrophysical and solar system research: star formation, stellar evolution, astrochemistry, the structure and evolution of the interstellar medium in our Galaxy and external galaxies, astrophysical processes near supermassive black holes, planetary atmospheres, and moons and small bodies in the solar system science. In this talk, rather than giving a general overview of what SOFIA has accomplished in these fields, I will emphasize the role and importance of SOFIA in understanding the process of star formation with a particular emphasis on massive star formation.