Preeminent Astronomy Expert Tapped to Head New A&M Program

Internationally recognized astronomer and cosmologist Dr. Nicholas B. Suntzeff has been appointed as professor of physics and inaugural holder of the Mitchell-Heep-Munnerlyn Endowed Chair in Observational Astronomy in the Department of Physics at Texas A&M University, announced Dr. H. Joseph Newton, dean of the College of Science.

Suntzeff comes to Texas A&M after 20 years at the United States National Optical Astronomy Observatory (NOAO)/Cerro Tololo Inter-American Observatory in La Serena, Chile, where he was the associate director for science for NOAO and a tenured astronomer since 1996. As holder of the Mitchell-Heep-Munnerlyn Chair, he will be expected to apply his considerable scientific and administrative talents to lead Texas A&M’s efforts to build a world-renowned program in astronomy and cosmology.

“We are indeed fortunate to have attracted an astronomer as eminent as Dr. Suntzeff to lay the foundation of our astronomy program,” Newton said.

A leading expert in cosmology and stellar populations, Suntzeff has authored more than 180 research publications and is a frequent lecturer at international scientific conferences. He is perhaps best known for his work on observations of large redshift supernovas that identified an unexpected acceleration in the expansion of the Universe, a discovery which was honored as Science magazine’s Scientific Breakthrough of the Year in 1998. This groundbreaking finding provided the first evidence of a mysterious energy that comprises 75 percent of the material of the Universe and, when added to the other components of the Universe, makes it geometrically flat.

Suntzeff describes the measurement and understanding of this energy, which acts as an “anti-gravity,” as perhaps the most exciting question in the physical sciences today. He said Albert Einstein himself predicted this very energy as a “cosmological constant” to explain his concept for a static universe. Although Einstein later called this prediction his “worst blunder” when Edwin Hubble discovered the expansion of the Universe, Suntzeff said the discovery of dark energy has now revived this concept.

A decorated researcher and scholar, Suntzeff is a two-time winner of the Association of Universities for Research in Astronomy Inc. (AURA) Science Award for his research on supernova SN1987A (1992) and cosmology (1999). He also is a co-recipient of the 1983 Robert J. Trumpler Award, given annually by the Astronomical Society of the Pacific in recognition of the most outstanding astronomy thesis of the year granted at North American universities.

“We are ecstatic that Dr. Suntzeff is joining our faculty,” said Dr. Edward S. Fry, professor and head of the Department of Physics. “We consider him a keystone in the development of a top 10 program in astronomy at Texas A&M.”

A native of Corte Madera, California, Suntzeff received his bachelor of science in mathematics with distinction from Stanford University in 1974. After earning his doctorate in astronomy and astrophysics at Lick Observatory, University of California at Santa Cruz in 1980, he served two years as a post-doctoral research associate in the Department of Astronomy at the University of Washington. Prior to joining the NOAO team in Chile in 1986, Suntzeff spent four years as a Carnegie Fellow at the Observatories of the Carnegie Institution of Washington, one of eight current partners along with Texas A&M in the Giant Magellan Telescope Consortium (GMTC), which seeks to build a telescope that will not only rank as the world’s largest, but also be capable of producing images 10 times sharper than those of the Hubble.

“I believe that Texas A&M University offers a unique opportunity to build a first-rate astronomy program,” Suntzeff said. “Many factors have come together to allow this to happen — strong support from the University, deep interest in astrophysics in the Department of Physics, a world-class engineering program, student interest at Texas A&M, and donors who see Texas A&M becoming an important center of excellence in astronomical sciences. I look forward to helping Texas A&M University grow into a premier astronomical university.”

The Mitchell-Heep-Munnerlyn Chair was established in 2005 to attract or retain a senior faculty member in the Department of Physics with the financial support of two stellar Texas A&M former students — George P. Mitchell ’40, whose nearly $49 million in contributions to Texas A&M Physics includes $3.25 million in gifts to support Texas A&M’s participation in the Giant Magellan Telescope project, and Dr. Charles R. Munnerlyn ’62, a laser-vision correction systems pioneer, amateur astronomer and member of the College of Science’s Academy of Distinguished Former Students who earned his A&M degree in physics and whose own instrumental support of his alma mater’s astronomy efforts now totals more than $3 million. Their contributions were matched by the Herman F. Heep and Minnie Belle Heep Texas A&M University Foundation to create a chair valued at $2 million, which is among the University’s largest.

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Contact: Shana K. Hutchins, (979) 862-1237 or shutchins@science.tamu.edu or Dr. Nicholas B. Suntzeff, (979) 458-1786 or suntzeff@physics.tamu.edu