Bruce Woodgate
Bruce E. Woodgate (1939 – April 28, 2014) was a
light wavelengths in deep space. Woodgate's invention has been called a "game changer" in the field of astronomy, allowing scientists to discover an "invisible high-speed collision" near SN 1987A, as well as new planets and black holes.[1][3]
A power failure knocked STIS offline in 2004, but it was repaired in 2009.
Aside his from his work as the principal investigator on STIS, Woodgate had also begun development on a new
UV detector which counts protons utilizing new nano-fabrication technologies.[1] He was active in several new technologies such as photon-counting electron multiplying CCDs and integral field spectrographs designed for the direct detection of habitable exoplanets. He was honored with the NASA Distinguished Service Medal and the Award of Merit from the Goddard Space Flight Center.[1]
In addition to Goddard research, he was an avid sailor and an instructor in the Goddard Sailing Association.
Woodgate was born and raised in
Royal Greenwich Observatory, which was located at Herstmonceux Castle at the time.[3] Woodgate then moved to London, where he earned a doctorate from University College London.[2]
He moved to the United States, where he held positions at Columbia University's Goddard Institute for Space Studies.[2] In 1975, Woodgate joined the staff of NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center, where he worked for the rest of his career.[2]
Bruce Woodgate died on April 28, 2014, from complications from a series of strokes suffered during the previous month.[1] He was 75 years old.[3]
References
- ^ a b c d e f g Tanglao, Leezel (2014-05-01). "Inventor of the camera used on Hubble telescope has died". CBS News. Retrieved 2014-05-18.
- ^ a b c d e Mountain, Matt (May 2014). "Bruce Woodgate" (PDF). Space Telescope Science Institute. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2014-05-19. Retrieved 2014-05-18.
- ^ a b c d e f "Tributes paid to man who changed the face of space". Eastbourne Herald. 2014-05-09. Archived from the original on 2016-06-25. Retrieved 2014-05-18.