Michael F. A'Hearn
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BBC Interview |
| Up Close and Personal | |
UMD Interview |
| Listen to Mike's interview with the BBC | ||
Institution: University of Maryland
Role: Principal Investigator
Website: www.astro.umd.edu/~ma
Prof. A'Hearn, an astronomer at the University of Maryland, has developed a variety of observational techniques to study the structure and composition of comets. He and his students and collaborators have developed a system for surveying abundances in many comets. They have also developed techniques for determining sizes of cometary nuclei combining optical and infrared measurements. He has carried out spectroscopy at many wavelengths to study particular molecules in comets. Asteroid 3192 was named after Dr. A'Hearn for his contributions to the field of cometary science. As the Principal Investigator for the Deep Impact mission, Prof. A'Hearn is responsible for the mission's overall success in meeting its science objectives.
Education:
B.S., Physics, Boston College, 1961
Ph.D., Astronomy, University of Wisconsin, 1966
Professional Experience:
| 1966-72 | Assistant Professor, University of Maryland | |
| 1972-82 | Associate Professor, University of Maryland | |
| 1982 - | Professor, University of Maryland | |
| 1985-87 | Acting Director, Astronomy Program, University of Maryland | |
| 1991-93 | Acting Chairman, Department of Astronomy, University of Maryland | |
| 2000 - | Distinguished University Professor, University of Maryland |
Professional Societies:
American Astronomical Society
Division of Planetary Sciences - American Astronomical Society
Sigma Pi Sigma
American Association for the Advancement of Science (Fellow)
Institute of Navigation
International Astronomical Union
Honors:
Asteroid 3192 A'Hearn, named in 1986 in honor of contributions to cometary science
Elected Fellow, American Association for the Advancement of Science
Current Committees and Services:
| American Astronomical Society | ||
| 2001-2004 | Member, Publications Board | |
| Association of University for Research in Astronomy | ||
| 2000- | Member, Board of Directors | |
| 1994- | Member, Observatories Council (vice-Chairman 1998-2000; Chairman 2000-) | |
| International Astronomical Union | ||
| 1994- | Member, Working Group on Near Earth Objects (WG NEO) | |
| 1997- | Small Bodies names Committee (SBNC) (Chairman 1997-2000) | |
| 2000- | Division III Board | |
| 2000- | Working Group on Cartographic Coordinates of Planets and Satellites | |
| Journal Editing | ||
| 1988- | Member, Editorial Advisory Board, International Comet Quarterly | |
| 1993- | Associate Editor, Earth, Moon and Planets | |
| Lowell Observatory | ||
| 1998- | Member, Trustee's Advisory Committee | |
| National Astronomy and Ionosphere Center | ||
| 2000-2003 | Member, Visiting Committee | |
| NASA Panels | ||
| 1999- | Member, Planetary Protection Task Force | |
| 1999- | Member, Inter-Agency Coordinating group (NASA-ESA-IKI-ISAS), Task Group 1 (Small Bodies) | |
Major Research Activities
- Principal Investigator for the Deep Impact mission to excavate a crater on a cometary nucleus
- Manager, Small Bodies Node of NASA's Planetary Data System
- Research on comets and other small bodies of the solar system using observations at all wavelengths, from extreme ultraviolet to radio
- More than 100 paper in referred journals
