News and Events
Professor Daniel Wang was recently appointed as a Yixing (endowed) Visiting Chair Professorship at Nanjing University in China. This appointment lasts for three years. The award is for his international reputation as a distinguished astronomer, and his outstanding contribution to the school of astronomy and space science of the university.
Professor Daniel Wang had an extended visit early this year to the Institute of Astronomy at Cambridge University as a Raymond and Beverley Sackler Distinguished Visiting Astronomer.
Professor Mauro Giavalisco, with international team, identifies earliest galaxy ever detected.
Professor Daniel Wang and an international team discover why massive black holes consume less material than expected.
Giant new telescope ready to attempt imaging black hole at center of galaxy. Article in the UMass Amherst "In The Loop" Weekly 8/22/13.
Professor Emeritus William M. Irvine has been elected to the Steering Committee of the new IAU Division F, Planetary Systems and Bioastronomy. Commission F "deals with our Solar System, extrasolar planetary systems, and bioastronomy. To this purpose, the Division promotes studies concerning planetary systems, including our own, aimed at the understanding of their formation and evolution, from the point of view of the dynamics and of the physics, as well as of the occurrence of conditions favourable to the development of life in the universe. Division F promotes the dissemination of reliable physical and dynamical data concerning the astronomical objects in the above fields, and oversees the assignment of proper nomenclature and discovery credits, where appropriate."
Some 1740 of the IAU's >10,000 members belong to Division F.
Professor Daniela Calzetti has been selected as one of the faculty members to be recognized at the ninth annual UMass Amherst Faculty Convocation. This event, to be held on Friday, October 4 at 11:00 am in Bowker Auditorium, will be a celebration of research and creative activity that has achieved national and/or international recognition in recent years. As an honoree, she will receive a crystal statuette, which will be presented to her during the convocation ceremony.
Professor Daniela Calzetti was recently awarded a Treasury Program on the Hubble Space Telescope for 154 orbits, to use the powerful WFC3 Camera on board the HST to image nearby galaxies from the ultraviolet to the red. The program is called LEGUS: Legacy ExtraGalactic UV Survey, and will be executed on the HST starting in the Fall of 2013. In addition to the 154 primary orbits, Professor Calzetti was also awarded 154 parallel orbits, that will increase the legacy value of the survey.
Two Astronomy Department graduate students, Joseph Burchett and Brandt Gaches, were awarded the Summer 2013 Fellowship of the Massachusetts Space Grant Consortium.
Allison Kirkpatrick has been selected to receive a 2013-14 Graduate School Fellowship. The Graduate School Fellowship was created to recognize and reward excellence among a select group of incoming and continuing graduate students.
