She is the first woman in the United States to head a major observatory, and she provided significant contributions to the construction of six telescopes.

[4] She soon accepted a job opportunity for a new program and joined the Institute for Astronomy at the University of Hawaii where she worked as an assistant and associate astronomer from 1971 to 1976.

While in Hawaii, Wolff spent 17 years contributing to the conversion of Mauna Kea into one of the world's top sites for astronomy.

This changed ground-based astronomy and gained the attention of other astronomical organizations, eventually leading to the installation of the Canada-France-Hawaii telescope.

Wolff also contributed to the construction of the SOAR 4.1-meter telescope at the Cerro Tololo Inter-American Observatory near La Serena, Chile.

[8] Later that year, Wolff left Hawaii as she was named Director of the Kitt Peak National Observatory (KPNO) in Tucson, Arizona until 1987.

This made her the first woman in American history to lead a major observatory and the longest serving director of NOAO.

Other books authored by Wolff include The Boundless Universe: Astronomy in the New Age of Discovery and The A-Type Stars – Problems and Perspectives (1983).