Jerry Nelson (astronomer)
Encyclopedia
Jerry Earl Nelson is an American astronomer
known for his pioneering work designing segmented mirror
telescopes, which led to him receiving the 2010 Kavli Prize
for Astrophysics.
He is the principal designer and project scientist for the Keck telescopes.
where he studied under astronomers Paul Routly and George Abell
. Growing up in Kagel Canyon outside of Los Angeles
, he was the first child from his town to go to college.
He got his B.S. in physics
from the California Institute of Technology
in 1965 and his Ph.D. in elementary particle physics from University of California, Berkeley
in 1972. While at Caltech, he helped to design and build a 1.5-meter telescope.
, he was appointed to a five-person committee to design a 10-meter telescope, twice the diameter of the best telescope of the time. He concluded that only a segmented design would be sensible to overcome structural difficulties. His design had 36 hexagonal mirror segments, each six feet in diameter and just three inches thick. This led to the creation of the revolutionary twin 10-meter Keck telescopes.
Segments solved the structural problem but created a new one involving the alignment of the segments. To deal with this, Nelson contributed to the design of an alignment system that used 168 electronic sensors mounted on the edges of the hexagonal mirror segments and 108 motor-driven adjusting mechanisms to continually keep the mirror system in the correct shape.
His proposal was met with skepticism. It was felt that the scheme was too complex to ever work. Eventually, Nelson overcame the doubts by building working prototypes.
Nelson became a professor at UC Santa Cruz
in 1994. In 1999, he was the founding Director of the Center for Adaptive Optics at UCSC.
In 2010, he shared the million dollar Kavli Prize
for Astrophysics for his work on segmented mirrors.
Astronomer
An astronomer is a scientist who studies celestial bodies such as planets, stars and galaxies.Historically, astronomy was more concerned with the classification and description of phenomena in the sky, while astrophysics attempted to explain these phenomena and the differences between them using...
known for his pioneering work designing segmented mirror
Segmented mirror
A segmented mirror is an array of smaller mirrors designed to act as segments of a single large curved mirror. The segments can be either spherical or asymmetric . They are used as objectives for large reflecting telescopes...
telescopes, which led to him receiving the 2010 Kavli Prize
Kavli Prize
The Kavli Prize was established in 2005 through a joint venture between the Norwegian Academy of Science and Letters, the Norwegian Ministry of Education and Research, and The Kavli Foundation...
for Astrophysics.
He is the principal designer and project scientist for the Keck telescopes.
Education
As a high school student in 1960, Nelson got an early start in astronomy when he attended the Summer Science ProgramSummer Science Program
The Summer Science Program is an intense six-week summer program for intellectually talented high school students. The program is based on a collaborative research project in celestial mechanics. Students study astronomy, physics, spherical trigonometry, and calculus while working to take...
where he studied under astronomers Paul Routly and George Abell
George Ogden Abell
George Ogden Abell was an astronomer at UCLA. He worked as a research astronomer, teacher, administrator, popularizer of science and education, and skeptic. Abell received his B.S. , M.S. and Ph.D. from the California Institute of Technology...
. Growing up in Kagel Canyon outside of Los Angeles
Los Ángeles
Los Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...
, he was the first child from his town to go to college.
He got his B.S. in physics
Physics
Physics is a natural science that involves the study of matter and its motion through spacetime, along with related concepts such as energy and force. More broadly, it is the general analysis of nature, conducted in order to understand how the universe behaves.Physics is one of the oldest academic...
from the California Institute of Technology
California Institute of Technology
The California Institute of Technology is a private research university located in Pasadena, California, United States. Caltech has six academic divisions with strong emphases on science and engineering...
in 1965 and his Ph.D. in elementary particle physics from University of California, Berkeley
University of California, Berkeley
The University of California, Berkeley , is a teaching and research university established in 1868 and located in Berkeley, California, USA...
in 1972. While at Caltech, he helped to design and build a 1.5-meter telescope.
Career
In 1977, when Nelson worked in the Physics Division of the Lawrence Berkeley National LaboratoryLawrence Berkeley National Laboratory
The Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory , is a U.S. Department of Energy national laboratory conducting unclassified scientific research. It is located on the grounds of the University of California, Berkeley, in the Berkeley Hills above the central campus...
, he was appointed to a five-person committee to design a 10-meter telescope, twice the diameter of the best telescope of the time. He concluded that only a segmented design would be sensible to overcome structural difficulties. His design had 36 hexagonal mirror segments, each six feet in diameter and just three inches thick. This led to the creation of the revolutionary twin 10-meter Keck telescopes.
—Jerry Nelson
"The Hale TelescopeHale telescopeThe Hale Telescope is a , 3.3 reflecting telescope at the Palomar Observatory in California, named after astronomer George Ellery Hale. With funding from the Rockefeller Foundation, he orchestrated the planning, design, and construction of the observatory, but did not live to see its commissioning...
was very innovative for its day, but in terms of advancing the state of the art--or at least pushing the available technology to its limits--it's been downhill ever since for optical telescopes. It is time for a forward step, not just making improvements in an old design."
Segments solved the structural problem but created a new one involving the alignment of the segments. To deal with this, Nelson contributed to the design of an alignment system that used 168 electronic sensors mounted on the edges of the hexagonal mirror segments and 108 motor-driven adjusting mechanisms to continually keep the mirror system in the correct shape.
His proposal was met with skepticism. It was felt that the scheme was too complex to ever work. Eventually, Nelson overcame the doubts by building working prototypes.
Nelson became a professor at UC Santa Cruz
University of California, Santa Cruz
The University of California, Santa Cruz, also known as UC Santa Cruz or UCSC, is a public, collegiate university; one of ten campuses in the University of California...
in 1994. In 1999, he was the founding Director of the Center for Adaptive Optics at UCSC.
In 2010, he shared the million dollar Kavli Prize
Kavli Prize
The Kavli Prize was established in 2005 through a joint venture between the Norwegian Academy of Science and Letters, the Norwegian Ministry of Education and Research, and The Kavli Foundation...
for Astrophysics for his work on segmented mirrors.
—UCSC Chancellor George R. Blumenthal
"This is a most well-deserved award. Jerry Nelson first revolutionized astronomy when he invented the segmented mirror design for the Keck Telescopes; he continued with his outstanding work on adaptive optics, and he is about to transform astronomy again through his leading role in the Thirty Meter TelescopeThirty meter telescopeThe Thirty Metre Telescope is a proposed ground-based large segmented mirror reflecting telescope to be built on Mauna Kea in Hawaii. The telescope is designed for observations from the near-ultraviolet to the mid-infrared . An adaptive optics system would correct for image blur caused by the...
project, his work has made possible an era of incredible discoveries in astronomy."
Awards
- 1995 Dannie Heineman Prize for AstrophysicsDannie Heineman Prize for AstrophysicsThe Dannie Heineman Prize for Astrophysics is jointly awarded each year by the American Astronomical Society and American Institute of Physics for outstanding work in astrophysics. It is funded by the Heineman Foundation in honour of Dannie Heineman....
- 1995 California Institute of TechnologyCalifornia Institute of TechnologyThe California Institute of Technology is a private research university located in Pasadena, California, United States. Caltech has six academic divisions with strong emphases on science and engineering...
Distinguished Alumni - 1996 Joseph Fraunhofer Award and Robert M. Burley Prize from the Optical Society of AmericaOptical Society of AmericaThe Optical Society is a scientific society dedicated to advancing the study of light—optics and photonics—in theory and application, by means of publishing, organizing conferences and exhibitions, partnership with industry, and education. The organization has members in more than 100 countries...
- 1998 Grand Prix Andre Lallemand awarded by the French Academy of SciencesFrench Academy of SciencesThe French Academy of Sciences is a learned society, founded in 1666 by Louis XIV at the suggestion of Jean-Baptiste Colbert, to encourage and protect the spirit of French scientific research...
- 2010 Kavli PrizeKavli PrizeThe Kavli Prize was established in 2005 through a joint venture between the Norwegian Academy of Science and Letters, the Norwegian Ministry of Education and Research, and The Kavli Foundation...
for Astrophysics