A Swiss scientist has been named the new director of the Gemini Observatory.
A Swiss scientist has been named the new director of the Gemini Observatory.
The Association of Universities for Research in Astronomy Inc. selected Markus Kissler-Patig for the position, association president William Smith said Friday.
Kissler-Patig replaces interim director Fred Chaffee, who has held the post since May 2011. Chaffee took on the interim job when former director Douglas Simons stepped down in April 2011. Kissler-Patig will join Gemini Aug. 1.
“This is a time when the scientific output of the Gemini telescopes is expected to sharpen, and I’m anxious to focus on that goal with the help of the Gemini community,” Kissler-Patig said in an announcement about his hiring. “There has been exciting progress at Gemini in terms of instrumentation. I look forward to continuing this momentum and providing new forefront facilities for our users.”
Kissler-Patig has served as the project scientist for the European Southern Observatory Very Large Telescope project and as an instrument scientists for a variety of Very Large Telescope instruments, Gemini officials said. He earned his doctorate from the University of Bonn in Germany and the European Southern Observatory in Chile. His research interests include “areas of star cluster formation, star cluster systems in the context of galaxy formation and evolution, galaxy dynamics, stellar population models and calibration, intermediate-mass black holes, redshift 1-3 galaxies and the detection of exoplanets,” a Gemini announcement said.
He will be based in Hilo, but travel regularly to Gemini’s international headquarters in Chile.