SAFFORD — The Large Binocular Telescope Observatory board of directors announced Tuesday the appointment of the telescope’s new director, Prof. Joseph Shields, who will assume the position effective June 06.
Shields is currently vice president for Research and Creative Activity and dean of the Graduate College and the former chair of the Department of Physics and Astronomy at Ohio University.
“I am pleased and honored to have the opportunity to lead the talented LBTO staff during the observatory’s next phase as a pioneer in the realm of extremely large optical telescopes,” Shields said. “The LBT has a storied history and vibrant future in technological innovation and astronomical discovery, enabled by the distinctive expertise of its partner institutions.”
Located on Mount Graham, at an elevation of 3,200 meters/10,000 feet, the LBT has two 8.4m (27.5 feet) mirrors side-by-side like a pair of binoculars for a combined collecting area of a single 11.8m (38.7 feet) telescope. This unique design gives it the capabilities of a 23-m (75.5 feet) telescope in some observing modes, making it the first of the next-generation extremely large telescopes.
The LBT is an international collaboration among institutions in the United States, Italy and Germany. LBT Corporation partners are: The University of Arizona on behalf of the Arizona Board of Regents; Istituto Nazionale di Astrofisica, Italy; LBT Beteiligungsgesellschaft, Germany, representing the Max-Planck Society, The Leibniz Institute for Astrophysics Potsdam, and Heidelberg University; The Ohio State University, representing OSU, University of Notre Dame, University of Minnesota and University of Virginia.
“We are excited to welcome Joe and look forward to working with him to maintain the prominent position of LBT as a world-class astronomical facility,” stated Adriano Fontana, chair of the LBT board of directors. “Joe has a unique combination of astronomical experience, scientific vision and managerial capabilities that make him the perfect match for LBT. Joe will build on the unique role of LBT in fostering new astronomical discoveries and the development of cutting-edge observational techniques associated with adaptive optics and interferometry.”
