Donald Edward Osterbrock

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Donald Edward Osterbrock
Born(1924-07-13)July 13, 1924
Cincinnati
DiedJanuary 11, 2007(2007-01-11) (aged 82)
Santa Cruz
NationalityAmerican
Alma materUniversity of Chicago
Known forstar formation
Scientific career
Fieldsastronomy
Doctoral advisorSubrahmanyan Chandrasekhar
Doctoral studentsRobert E. Williams

Donald Edward Osterbrock (July 13, 1924 – January 11, 2007) was an American astronomer, best known for his work on star formation and on the history of astronomy.[1]

Biography

Osterbrock was born in

Second World War
, making weather observations in the Pacific. He did undergraduate classes in physics at the University of Chicago as part of his weather training.

He was educated at the

spiral arms
.

He became a

University of California at Santa Cruz, as Professor of Astronomy and Astrophysics, and Director of Lick Observatory, a position he held until 1981. He remained on the faculty at UC Santa Cruz until his retirement in 1993. Thereafter, Emeritus
Professor Osterbrock continued to make daily trips to his office on campus, to work on his research, to keep publishing, and to maintain an active role in the astronomical community.

At the time of his death he had authored 12 monographs on astronomy and the history of astronomy, including, in 1989 the influential textbook Astrophysics of

Gaseous Nebulae and Active Galactic Nuclei, and the recently updated and revised 2nd edition (2006) written along with Gary Ferland of the University of Kentucky
. Alongside his more than 150 articles on astronomy and astrophysics, he published 70 historical studies, biographical memoirs, and obituaries of major figures in nineteenth and twentieth century astronomy, and numerous book reviews.

Osterbrock's research included work on the nature of

black holes
.

Osterbrock received lifetime achievement awards from the American Astronomical Society and the Astronomical Society of the Pacific. He was President of the American Astronomical Society from 1988 to 1990.

He died following a heart attack. He was survived by his wife of 54 years, Irene Hansen (1926-2019), and their son and two daughters.

Honors

Awards

  • University of Chicago Alumni Association Professional Achievement Award (1982)
  • University Center Distinguished Scholar in Physics and Astronomy, Atlanta, Georgia (1990)
  • Catherine Wolfe Bruce Gold Medal, Astronomical Society of the Pacific (1991)
  • Gold Medal, Royal Astronomical Society (1997)
  • Antoinette de Vancouleurs Memorial Lectureship and Medal,
    University of Texas
    (1994)
  • Hans Lippershey Medal, Antique Telescope Society (1998)
  • University of Chicago Alumni Medal (2000)
  • Leroy E. Doggett Prize for Historical Astronomy, Historical Astronomy Division, American Astronomical Society (2002)

Named after him

  • 6107 Osterbrock
  • Osterbrock Book Prize; the Donald E. Osterbrock Book Prize for Historical Astronomy is awarded biennially in odd-numbered years since 2011[6]

Honorary degrees

References

  1. doi:10.1063/1.2731990
    .
  2. ^ Donald E. Osterbrock – John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation Archived November 3, 2013, at the Wayback Machine
  3. ^ "Donald E. Osterbrock". www.nasonline.org. Retrieved 2022-04-14.
  4. ^ "Donald E. Osterbrock". American Academy of Arts & Sciences. Retrieved 2022-04-14.
  5. ^ "APS Member History". search.amphilsoc.org. Retrieved 2022-04-14.
  6. ^ "Osterbrock Book Prize". American Astronomical Society > Historical Astronomy Division. Retrieved 20 March 2021.

External links

Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Donald_Edward_Osterbrock&oldid=1205074001"