2006 Leo Goldberg Fellowship

Simon Schuler

Simon Schuler received a B.S. in Physics from the University of Miami in 2001. Afterwards, he entered the graduate program in the Department of Physics and Astronomy at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas where he began working with his advisor, Prof. Jeremy King. Simon earned a M.S. degree in 2002 after finishing his thesis, "Spectroscopic Abundances of Solar-Type Dwarfs in Open Cluster M34." He then continued his work with his advisor at Clemson University, where he received his Ph.D. in Physics and Astronomy in 2006. Following the work from his M.S. thesis, his dissertation, titled "Chemical Abundances of Solar-Type Dwarfs in Open Clusters," extended his high-resolution spectroscopic studies to stars in the open clusters Pleiades and Hyades.

Now as a Goldberg Fellow, Simon is continuing his research at NOAO South- Cerro Tololo Inter-American Observatory (CTIO)- in La Serena, Chile, where he plans to make extensive use of the bHROS optical and Phoenix near-IR high-resolution spectrographs on the 8-m Gemini-South telescope. His focus is on deriving the chemical abundances of various Galactic stellar populations using high-resolution spectroscopy in order to investigate Big Bang Nucleosynthesis, the synthesis and evolution of the elements, stellar physics, and the chemical signatures of planetary host stars. One of the projects on which he will be working while at CTIO is deriving the abundances of carbon, oxygen, and other elements in carbon-enhanced metal-poor stars. These old stars are thought to be original members of the earliest stellar generations, and they show remarkable and yet unexplained enhancements in carbon relative to their iron content. Simon's work will aim to elucidate the nucleosynthetic history of these old stars and thus the early Galaxy. In addition to studying some of the oldest stars in the Galaxy, Simon, along with collaborators at Indiana and Clemson universities and at CTIO, currently has a long-term program using the WIYN 3.5-m telescope and Hydra multi-fiber spectrograph to study Li and chromospheric activity in Pleiades dwarfs, stars that are approximately 100 million years old. With this project, they hope to resolve the long-standing problem of the large Li dispersions observed among late-G and K dwarfs in young open clusters.

Other Current Fellows

• Jennifer Lotz
• Gregory Rudnick
• Armin Rest
• Lucas Macri

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Leo Goldberg’s Rich Contributions to the National Observatory

For the past two years, NOAO has awarded a unique five-year post-doctoral fellowship aimed at supporting young astronomers of outstanding promise to carry out research at NOAO-North or NOAO-South during the first four years of the fellowship, plus research and teaching at a university during the fifth year. The fellowships provide a context for designing and executing challenging long-term research programs, and preparing for university careers.

Until now, we have called recipients of these fellowships “NOAO Five Year Post-Doctoral Fellows.” Following approval by the AURA Observatories Council, these fellowships will now be called Leo Goldberg Fellowships.

As an astronomer, Leo Goldberg made distinguished contributions to our understanding of gaseous nebulae, and to solar and stellar physics. The importance and quality of his work was recognized by his election to the U.S. National Academy of Sciences in 1958.

His contributions to the US and international communities were equally distinguished. During Leo’s 14-year term as chairman, the astronomy department at the University of Michigan achieved world-wide recognition. From 1960-71, he chaired the Astronomy Department at Harvard and was responsible for recruiting a cohort of outstanding young astronomers and nurturing a number of new research programs. From 1967-70, he served as Chair of NASA’s Astronomy Missions Board, and helped develop a strategic vision that led to a suite of ground-breaking missions that revolutionized solar physics and astrophysics during the ensuing decades.

From 1971-1977, Leo was Director of Kitt Peak National Observatory, where he oversaw the commissioning and initial instrumentation of the Mayall and Blanco 4-meter telescopes. He also served as President of the International Astronomical Union during this time. As he did at Harvard and Michigan, Leo recruited a large number of young astronomers and imbued them with a vision of a national observatory that develops and provides world-class facilities open to all astronomers based on the merit of proposed research. The astronomers and post-doctoral fellows drawn to KPNO and CTIO by Leo’s vision included an incredibly large number of future observatory directors and department chairs, whose commitment to superb scholarship and community service owes no small debt to Goldberg.

Throughout his life, Leo was committed to identifying outstanding young scientists, offering them support and opportunities to succeed, holding them to high standards, and encouraging in them the belief that support of broad community interests is both a noble goal and a necessity for progress. It is for these reasons that we are proud to name the NOAO five-year fellowship in memory and honor of Leo Goldberg.

For more information:

National Academy of Sciences Biographical Memory by Lawrence H. Aller (Volume 72, 1997)

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