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Lowell Observatory
Communications Office
1400 W. Mars Hill Rd.
Flagstaff, AZ 86001
www.lowell.edu
PRESS RELEASE
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
MAY 15, 2015
***Contact details appear below***
LOWELL OBSERVATORY HIRES MICHAEL WEST AS DEPUTY DIRECTOR FOR SCIENCE
Flagstaff, Az- Astronomer Michael West is Lowell Observatory’s new Deputy Director for
Science, effective July 31, 2015. He brings more than 30 years of experience to a position that
combines both elements of the Observatory’s mission, research and education.
West comes to Lowell from Nantucket’s Maria Mitchell Association, where he served as
Director of Astronomy since 2013. He earned his Ph.D. in Astronomy from Yale University in
1987 and has since served in a number of prominent research and teaching positions. He was a
tenured astronomy professor at the University of Hawaii, Head of Science Operations at the
Gemini South Observatory in Chile, and Head of Science at the European Southern
Observatory’s facilities in Chile.
West has published approximately 100 scientific papers on a variety of topics including star
clusters, galaxy formation and evolution, clusters of galaxies, and the large-scale structure of
the universe.
In 2006, he was the chief astronomy content developer for the $26 million ‘Imiloa Astronomy
Center of Hawaii and for six years chaired the International Astronomical Union’s Working
Group on New Ways of Communicating Astronomy with the Public.
Lowell Observatory director Jeffrey Hall said, “Michael was chosen from a set of exceptional
candidates for having the perfect blend of an established record of research, broad experience
with outreach, and management skills – the entire suite of skills we were looking for in in our
Deputy Director for Science.”
West said, “I’m thrilled about joining Lowell. The Observatory has an incredibly rich history and
a very bright future, including its new Discovery Channel Telescope and a great outreach
program that attracts 80,000 visitors per year. I can’t imagine a more exciting place to be.”
He added, “The Deputy Director for Science position is really a dream job for me. It combines
what I enjoyed most in my previous positions at other observatories and universities, including
science management, public education and, of course, research.”
At Lowell, West will split his time equally between research and deputy director duties, which
will include helping develop and implement the Observatory’s long-range scientific vision. He
said, “I really think of Lowell as ‘America’s observatory’. It’s the place where Pluto was
discovered and where some of the first observations of the expanding universe were made. Yet
the Observatory has never rested on its laurels; it’s still a place where cutting-edge research is
being done today and in the future. How exciting is that?!”
West will also oversee Lowell’s education and outreach efforts, which include onsite and offsite
activities for both public and private groups. “I love sharing the wonders of the universe with
people, and I try to do it in creative ways,” West said. “As Maria Mitchell, America’s first
woman astronomer, stated, ‘We especially need imagination in science. It is not all
mathematics nor all logic, but it is somewhat beauty and poetry.’ That’s my guiding philosophy.
It’s also one that Percival Lowell shared.”
Media Contact
Josh Bangle
Communication Manager
Lowell Observatory
(928) 607-1974
[email protected]
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About Lowell Observatory
Lowell Observatory is a private, non-profit research institution founded in 1894 by Percival
Lowell. The Observatory has been the site of many important discoveries including the
detection of the large recessional velocities (redshift) of galaxies by Vesto Slipher in 1912-1914
(a result that led ultimately to the realization the universe is expanding), and the discovery of
Pluto by Clyde Tombaugh in 1930. Today, Lowell's 14 astronomers use ground-based telescopes
around the world, telescopes in space, and NASA planetary spacecraft to conduct research in
diverse areas of astronomy and planetary science. The Observatory welcomes about 80,000
visitors each year to its Mars Hill campus in Flagstaff, Arizona for a variety of tours, telescope
viewing, and special programs. Lowell Observatory currently operates four research telescopes
at its Anderson Mesa dark sky site east of Flagstaff and the 4.3-meter Discovery Channel
Telescope near Happy Jack, Arizona.