C. Donald Shane
Charles Donald Shane | |
---|---|
Born | Charles Donald Shane 6 September 1895 University of California at Berkeley |
Occupations |
|
Known for | counting external galaxies, establishment of the Cerro Tololo Inter-American Observatory |
Spouse |
Ethel L. Haskett (m. 1917) |
Scientific career | |
Fields | Astronomy |
Thesis | (1920) |
Charles Donald Shane (September 6, 1895 – March 19, 1983) was an American astronomer and director of the Lick Observatory of the University of California from 1945 to 1958, during which time he carried out a monumental program of counting external galaxies and investigating their distribution. During World War II from 1942 to 1945, he participated in the Manhattan Project. In the 1960s he was instrumental for the establishment of the Cerro Tololo Inter-American Observatory in Chile. He also played a major role in the planning and construction of the first telescopes and buildings on Kitt Peak National Observatory.
Early life and education
Shane was born in 1895, on Futhey ranch near
Shane attended
Career
He began as an instructor in mathematics at the University of California at Berkeley, gradually transferring into astronomy. In 1924, he became assistant professor of astronomy, in 1935 he became professor in 1935, and chairman of the astronomy department in 1941.[1]
During World War II from 1942 to 1945, he participated in the Manhattan Project. He was assistant director for scientific personnel of the Radiation Laboratory in Berkeley (now Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory) and later at Project Y in Los Alamos, New Mexico.[1]
From 1945 to 1958 he was director of the Lick Observatory of the University of California, during which time he carried out a monumental program of counting external galaxies and investigating their distribution.
He was second president of AURA, and instrumental for the establishment of the Cerro Tololo Inter-American Observatory in Chile. He also played a major role in the planning and construction of the first telescopes and buildings on Kitt Peak National Observatory.[2] He remained part of the active faculty until retirement in 1963.[1]
Shane was elected to the American Philosophical Society in 1955 and the United States National Academy of Sciences in 1961.[3][4]
Personal life and death
In 1917, Shane married Ethel L. Haskett, secretary at the Lick Observatory, who died two weeks after birth of their son Charles Shane in January 1919.[1]
In 1920, Shane married Mary Lea Heger, to whom he was married until he died of leukemia in 1983. Heger had graduated from the University of California in 1919 and received her Ph.D. degree in astronomy in 1924, detecting
Leagcy
- The 3-meter C. Donald Shane telescope at the Lick Observatory was named after him in 1978.
- The 1994 Shane asteroid was named after him.[5]
References
- ^ ISBN 0-309-03938-X
- ISBN 978-3-540-00238-3.
- ^ "APS Member History". search.amphilsoc.org. Retrieved 2023-01-18.
- ^ "C. D. Shane". www.nasonline.org. Retrieved 2023-01-18.
- ^ "MPC/MPO/MPS Archive". Minor Planet Center. Retrieved 8 December 2016.