Hitchcock LECTURE SERIES

Atomic and Molecular Astrophysics

Comets and the Solar Wind

Alexander Dalgarno, Phillips Professor of Astronomy, Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics

February 27, 2003
International House Auditorium, 2299 Piedmont Avenue, Berkeley

Throughout the ages, comets have been both feared and celebrated. Renowned astronomer and astrophysicist Alexander Dalgarno relates comets and solar winds to molecular astrophysics.

About Alexander Dalgarno

A distinguished astronomer and leading astrophysicist, Alexander Dalgarno is renowned for his ground breaking research in atomic, molecular, chemical, and dynamical processes in astrophysical and atmospheric environments. His three main areas of study are theoretical atomic and molecular physics, astrophysics, and aeronomy (the study of the upper atmosphere). He has authored more than 600 publications. Currently, Dalgarno is the Phillips Professor of Astronomy at Harvard University at the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics, and a physicist at the Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory. His previous positions, include acting director of Harvard College Observatory; chairman of the department of astronomy at Harvard University; associate director for theoretical astrophysics at the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics; director of the Institute for Theoretical Atomic and Molecular Physics; and editor of the Astrophysical Journal Letters. Born in 1928 in London, Dalgarno received his B.S. in mathematics with first class honors in 1947, his B.S. for advanced subjects with distinction in 1948, and his Ph.D. in theoretical physics in 1951, all from University College, London. From 1951 through 1967, he rose from assistant lecturer to professor at The Queen's University of Belfast. He joined the department of astronomy at Harvard University in 1967. Dalgarno’s achievements have been recognized with a multitude of honors, including the Annual Prize of the International Academy of Quantum Molecular Science (1969); the Davisson-Germer Award of the American Physical Society (1980); the Gold Medal of the Royal Astronomical Society (1986); the John A. Fleming Medal of the American Geophysical Union (1995); and the Hughes Medal of the Royal Society (2002). He is a fellow of the Royal Irish Academy, the Royal Society of London, the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, and the National Academy of Sciences. In 1998, Asteroid 6941 was named Asteroid Dalgarno.

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