LETTER from GRADUATE ADMISSIONS COMMITTEE CHAIR

 

 

Dear Applicant:

 

Thank you very much for your interest in the Graduate Program in Astronomy at the University of Arizona. I hope that you will find the information contained in this packet to be of help in planning your continuing education in astronomy.

 

We are very proud of our Ph.D. program in Astronomy. The atmosphere of the department is informal and friendly, yet extremely active and inspiring Research in theory and observation covers nearly all areas of astronomy and astrophysics, from the formation of stars and planets to the evolution of the universe on the largest scales. The research program is further complemented by a world-class program in instrumentation for ground and space-based facilities. Many researchers in the department are involved in large collaborations at the national and international level. Our faculty is world renowned, including members of the National Academy of Sciences (R. Angel, D. Arnett, F. Low, R. Jokipii). Our faculty members frequently receive major awards. For example, over the last 5 years, three faculty members have been named as Sloan fellows, three as Packard fellows, two as NSF-Career fellows, and one as a MacArthur fellow.

 

The last few years have witnessed some particularly exciting developments here. The 6.5 m MMT telescope near Tucson now has an array of uniquely powerful instruments -- the world's only adaptive secondary mirror Adaptive Optics system, and many very wide field imagers and spectrographs. With the 6.5 m Magellan I and II telescopes in Chile, we now have access to the southern hemisphere sky. The Large Binocular Telescope, with two 8.4m primary mirrors on a common mount, is in the stage of commissioning and early science operations. We anticipate that the two wide-field CCD mosaic prime focus cameras will be routinely scheduled for observing starting in early 2008. The first near-IR multi-object spectrograph (LUCIFER1) will begin scheduled observing in the second half of the year, and the first optical multi-object spectrograph (MODS1), early the following year. Observing capabilities will be added rapidly after that. The combined 11.2-meter aperture will make the LBT the most power telescope in the world. Looking into the future, last year, we cast the first of segment for the 20-24m Giant Magellan Telescope, the first of the new generation of extremely large telescopes, which will allow Steward to continue to be a leader in ground based observing for decades to come We complement the optical/IR telescopes with one of the world's best sub-mm telescopes, the Heinrich Hertz Telescope on Mt. Graham. We also are heavily involved in space-based astronomy; for instance the recently-launched Spitzer Space Telescope contains the MIPS instrument built in our department. Two of the instruments planned for the James Web Space Telescope will be built here. In addition, the department also benefits from a strong Theoretical Astrophysics Program, which brings theorists from the Departments of Astronomy, Physics and Planetary Sciences together. It has 20 affiliated faculty members with research interests ranging the dynamics of solar system to inflationary cosmology.

 

I am pleased to point out that Steward Observatory ranks number 2 (slightly behind Caltech) internationally in garnering prestigious Hubble Postdoctoral Fellowships for its graduates immediately after graduation. Steward Observatory is also one of the most favored host institutions for Hubble Fellows. Below is a list of some of our graduates that were awarded a Hubble immediately after graduation:

 

Dennis F. Zaritsky, class of 1991, moved to OCIW (Carnigie)

Hans-Walter R. Rix, class of 1991, Institute for Adv. Study

James Lowenthal, class of 1993, UC Santa Cruz

Buell Jannuzi, class of 1993, Institute for Adv. Study

Todd Henry, Class of 1994, at Space Telescope Science Institute

Crystal Martin, class of 1996, Space Telescope Science Institute

Mario Hamuy, class of 2001 OCIW (Carnigie)

Todd Thompson, class of 2002, Berkeley

Janice Lee, class of 2006, NOAO

Beth Biller, class of 2007, IfA Hawaii

 

*Eric Mamajek, class of 2004, Hubble declined for a Clay at CfA

*Jane Rigby, class of 2006, Hubble declined for a Spitzer at OCIW (Carnigie)

 

The diversity of the overall program affords a wide range of opportunities for our students, enabling graduates to choose among career paths in academia, national labs, or industry. Indeed, many recent Arizona graduates have made a successful career in astronomy and have attained prestigious professorships all over the world (e.g., D. Zaritsky, D. Minniti, J. Ge, J. Lowenthal, J. Bechtold, K. McLeod, C. Martin, J. Glenn, L. Close, C. Walker, K. Luhman, P. Hinz --to name a few), some in leading positions of major research institutions (e.g. H.-W. Rix, Director of the Max-Planck-Institute for Astronomy in Germany; John Hill, Tech. Director of LBT; Pete Worden, NASA Ames Center Director, Buell Jannuzi director of Kitt Peak). In 2005, we are proud that one of our recent graduates, Jennifer Scott, received the Trumpler Award of the Astronomical Society of the Pacific, which recognizes the best Ph.D. thesis in astronomy.

 

Given these attributes, competition for admission is naturally high, with typically 10-15 students being selected annually from an applicant pool of more than 150.

 

The application packet is now completely online, so we do not mail out applications. While a genuine attempt is made within the Astronomy Department to keep formal requirements to a minimum, the University has more rigid application procedures, and we recommend that you carefully review the web page that describes the schedule and disposition of application materials. Please note especially the December 1, 2007 deadline for receipt of completed international student applications, and January 11, 2008 deadline for the receipt of completed domestic student applications.

 

I hope that you will consider our program seriously for an advanced education in astronomy. If you have further questions, please review our web site or feel free to email me.

 

Sincerely yours,

 

Laird Close

Chair, Graduate Admissions Committee