Gerard Theodore van Belle (born October 30, 1968) is an American

astronomer An astronomer is a scientist in the field of astronomy who focuses on a specific question or field outside the scope of Earth. Astronomers observe astronomical objects, such as stars, planets, natural satellite, moons, comets and galaxy, galax ...

. He is an expert in optical (visible and near-infrared) astronomical interferometry. He currently works at the

Lowell Observatory Lowell Observatory is an astronomical observatory in Flagstaff, Arizona, United States. Lowell Observatory was established in 1894, placing it among the oldest observatories in the United States, and was designated a National Historic Landmark ...

as the Director of Science.

Education

van Belle received a bachelor's degree in physics from

Whitman College Whitman College is a private liberal arts college in Walla Walla, Washington. The school offers 53 majors and 33 minors in the liberal arts and sciences, and it has a student-to-faculty ratio of 9:1. Founded as a seminary by a territorial l ...

in 1990, a master's degree in physics from The

Johns Hopkins University The Johns Hopkins University (often abbreviated as Johns Hopkins, Hopkins, or JHU) is a private university, private research university in Baltimore, Maryland, United States. Founded in 1876 based on the European research institution model, J ...

in 1993, and a Ph.D. in physics from the

University of Wyoming The University of Wyoming (UW) is a Public university, public land-grant university, land-grant research university in Laramie, Wyoming, United States. It was founded in March 1886, four years before the territory was admitted as the 44th state, ...

in 1996. While at Whitman College, he initiated as a member of the

Sigma Chi Sigma Chi () International Fraternity is one of the largest North American social Fraternities and sororities, fraternities. The fraternity has 244 active undergraduate chapters and 152 alumni chapters across the United States and Canada and has ...

fraternity.

Career

After schooling, van Belle took a position at the

Jet Propulsion Laboratory The Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) is a Federally funded research and development centers, federally funded research and development center (FFRDC) in La Cañada Flintridge, California, Crescenta Valley, United States. Founded in 1936 by Cali ...

as an instrument architect for

NASA The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA ) is an independent agencies of the United States government, independent agency of the federal government of the United States, US federal government responsible for the United States ...

Keck Interferometer The W. M. Keck Observatory is an astronomical observatory with two telescopes at an elevation of 4,145 meters (13,600 ft) near the summit of Mauna Kea in the U.S. state of Hawaii. Both telescopes have aperture primary mirrors, and, when c ...

, and later joined the Michelson Science Center (now

NASA Exoplanet Science Institute The NASA Exoplanet Science Institute (NExScI) is part of the Infrared Processing and Analysis Center (IPAC) and is on the campus of the California Institute of Technology (Caltech) in Pasadena, CA. NExScI was formerly known as the Michelson Sci ...

) at

Caltech The California Institute of Technology (branded as Caltech) is a private university, private research university in Pasadena, California, United States. The university is responsible for many modern scientific advancements and is among a small g ...

in 2003. He has participated in the commissioning of the

Palomar Testbed Interferometer The Palomar Testbed Interferometer (PTI) was a near infrared, long-baseline stellar interferometer located at Palomar Observatory in north San Diego County, California, United States. It was built by Caltech and the Jet Propulsion Laboratory and ...

, and the

CHARA Array The CHARA (Center for High Angular Resolution Astronomy) array is an optical interferometer, located on Mount Wilson, California. The array consists of six telescopes operating as an astronomical interferometer. Construction was completed in ...

. In 2007, he became a member of the astronomy faculty at the

European Southern Observatory The European Organisation for Astronomical Research in the Southern Hemisphere, commonly referred to as the European Southern Observatory (ESO), is an intergovernmental organization, intergovernmental research organisation made up of 16 m ...

(ESO), and instrument scientist for the PRIMA instrument of ESO's

VLTI The Very Large Telescope (VLT) is an astronomical facility operated since 1998 by the European Southern Observatory, located on Cerro Paranal in the Atacama Desert of northern Chile. It consists of four individual telescopes, each equipped with a ...

facility; later in early 2011 he was also appointed instrument scientist for the MATISSE instrument of the VLTI. Since August 2011 he has been a member of the astronomer faculty at

. In May 2017 he was appointed the Director of the

Navy Precision Optical Interferometer The Navy Precision Optical Interferometer (NPOI) is an American astronomical interferometer, with the world's largest baselines, operated by the Naval Research Laboratory (NRL). Until the end of 2022, it was operated by a consortium that included ...

(NPOI), and after a one-year tenure became Chief Scientist for the facility, until 2022. In May 2024 he was appointed the Director for Science at Lowell Observatory.

Research

van Belle has utilized

near-infrared Infrared (IR; sometimes called infrared light) is electromagnetic radiation (EMR) with wavelengths longer than that of visible light but shorter than microwaves. The infrared spectral band begins with the waves that are just longer than those of ...

astronomical interferometer An astronomical interferometer or telescope array is a set of separate telescopes, mirror segments, or radio telescope antennas that work together as a single telescope to provide higher resolution images of astronomical objects such as stars, n ...

s to measure the sizes of hundreds of nearby stars. The first direct measurement of stellar shape was carried out by a team led by him using the Palomar Testbed Interferometer to make observations of the rapidly rotating star

Altair Altair is the brightest star in the constellation of Aquila (constellation), Aquila and the list of brightest stars, twelfth-brightest star in the night sky. It has the Bayer designation Alpha Aquilae, which is Latinisation of name ...

. He also contributed to practical considerations of operating astronomical interferometers, particularly regarding considerations of calibration of these complicated instruments.

Leadership

van Belle served as President of the

International Astronomical Union The International Astronomical Union (IAU; , UAI) is an international non-governmental organization (INGO) with the objective of advancing astronomy in all aspects, including promoting astronomical research, outreach, education, and developmen ...

's Commission 54 on Optical and Infrared Interferometry, for 2012–2015, after terms as Vice President (2009–2012) and Secretary (2006–2009).

Honors, awards and accolades

Asteroid 25155 van Belle is named for him.Asteroid 25155 van Belle
data online at JPL Horizons In 2018 Dr. van Belle was named a recipient of the Significant Sig Award of the Sigma Chi fraternity.

References

External links

Lowell Observatory's page for van Belle

IAU Commission 54 wiki

Twitter
@FringeDoctor {{DEFAULTSORT:van Belle, Gerard American astronomers Whitman College alumni Johns Hopkins University alumni University of Wyoming alumni Living people 1968 births