When
Where
TITLE
The Large Binocular Telescope Observatory: Discovery Driven by Innovation
ABSTRACT
The Large Binocular Telescope (LBT), located in Arizona on Mt Graham, is one of the most powerful optical/infrared telescopes in the world. The LBT embodies innovative optical design, use of Adaptive Optics, and an expanding suite of sophisticated instruments to drive cosmic discovery. The Observatory is considered the first of the emerging generation of Extremely Large Telescopes, piloting technologies that are enabling the creation of larger aperture facilities. New instruments added in recent years have expanded opportunities for high angular resolution measurements, and the study of extrasolar planets in particular. This talk will provide an overview of the LBT and its distinctive features, with examples of the resulting science, along with a look ahead to instrumentation in development.
BIO
Joseph Shields is Director of the Large Binocular Telescope Observatory and Astronomer at Steward Observatory. He completed undergraduate degrees at the University of Kansas and doctoral study in astronomy at the University of California-Berkeley, with postdoctoral appointments at Ohio State University and the University of Arizona. He subsequently held a faculty position for more than two decades in the Department of Physics & Astronomy at Ohio University, with service in a variety of administrative roles, before joining the University of Arizona in 2022. His research interests focus on nebular astrophysics and the study of supermassive black holes in the centers of galaxies using multiwavelength observations.