Thomas M. Dame is Director of the Radio Telescope Data Center at the Center for Astrophysics Harvard & Smithsonian, a Senior Radio Astronomer at the

Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory The Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory (SAO) is a research institute of the Smithsonian Institution, concentrating on Astrophysics, astrophysical studies including Galactic astronomy, galactic and extragalactic astronomy, cosmology, Sun, solar ...

, and a Lecturer on Astronomy at

Harvard University Harvard University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States. Founded in 1636 and named for its first benefactor, the History of the Puritans in North America, Puritan clergyma ...

. He is best known for mapping the

Milky Way The Milky Way or Milky Way Galaxy is the galaxy that includes the Solar System, with the name describing the #Appearance, galaxy's appearance from Earth: a hazy band of light seen in the night sky formed from stars in other arms of the galax ...

galaxy in

carbon monoxide Carbon monoxide (chemical formula CO) is a poisonous, flammable gas that is colorless, odorless, tasteless, and slightly less dense than air. Carbon monoxide consists of one carbon atom and one oxygen atom connected by a triple bond. It is the si ...

and for the discovery of both the

Far 3 kpc Arm The Far 3 kpc Arm was discovered in 2008 by astronomer Tom Dame while preparing a talk on the galaxy's spiral arms for a meeting of the 212th American Astronomical Society. It is one of the spiral arms of the Milky Way and it is located in the fi ...

and the Outer Scutum–Centaurus Arm of the Milky Way.

Education

Dame graduated from

Boston University Boston University (BU) is a Private university, private research university in Boston, Massachusetts, United States. BU was founded in 1839 by a group of Boston Methodism, Methodists with its original campus in Newbury (town), Vermont, Newbur ...

in 1976 with a BA in Astronomy and Physics. He earned his Master's degrees and Ph.D. from

Columbia University Columbia University in the City of New York, commonly referred to as Columbia University, is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Churc ...

. His dissertation, earned under

Patrick Thaddeus Patrick Thaddeus (June 6, 1932 – April 28, 2017) was an American professor and finished his career as the Robert Wheeler Willson Professor of Applied Astronomy Emeritus at Harvard University. He is best known for mapping carbon monoxide in the M ...

in 1983, was titled ''Molecular Clouds and Galactic Spiral Structure ''.

Career

After earning his doctorate, Dame worked as the National Research Council resident research associate at the

Goddard Institute for Space Studies The Goddard Institute for Space Studies (GISS) is a laboratory in the Earth Sciences Division of NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center affiliated with the Columbia University Earth Institute. The institute is located at Columbia University in Ne ...

from 1983 to 1984 and then as a research associate at the

Department of Astronomy. He moved to

with Thaddeus in 1986, becoming a teaching fellow in 1988. Dame is Director of the Radio Telescope Data Center at the Center for Astrophysics Harvard & Smithsonian. Dame and Thaddeus have obtained what is by far the most extensive, uniform, and widely used Galactic survey of interstellar carbon monoxide (CO). Dame discovered the

of the Milky Way in 2008 and the Outer Sct-Cen Arm in 2011.

Publications

Dame has authored or co-authored more than 100 research papers in astronomy.

Honors and awards

*Secretary's Research Prize,

Smithsonian Institution The Smithsonian Institution ( ), or simply the Smithsonian, is a group of museums, Education center, education and Research institute, research centers, created by the Federal government of the United States, U.S. government "for the increase a ...

, 2009 *Special Achievement Awards, Smithsonian Institution, 1989, 1997, 1999, 2007, 2009, 2010 *Postdoctoral Associateship,

National Academy of Sciences The National Academy of Sciences (NAS) is a United States nonprofit, NGO, non-governmental organization. NAS is part of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine, along with the National Academy of Engineering (NAE) and the ...

(N.R.C.), 1983–1984 *Columbia University Graduate Fellowship, 1976–1978 *College Prize for Excellence in Astronomy,

, 1976

Professional memberships

American Astronomical Society The American Astronomical Society (AAS, sometimes spoken as "double-A-S") is an American society of professional astronomers and other interested individuals, headquartered in Washington, DC. The primary objective of the AAS is to promote the adv ...

References

External links

Thomas M. Dame at the Center for Astrophysics Harvard & SmithsonianThomas M. Dame
Faculty Webpage, Harvard University Department of Astronomy
Thomas M. Dame CV
at Center for Astrophysics , Harvard & Smithsonian
Mapping the Milky Way
lecture for "Science for the Public" series at Harvard {{DEFAULTSORT:Dame, Thomas M. 21st-century American astronomers Columbia University alumni Harvard University faculty Living people Boston University College of Arts and Sciences alumni Year of birth missing (living people)