Peter Quinn was the head of the Data Management Division at the European Southern Observatory

European Southern Observatory

The European Southern Observatory is an intergovernmental research organisation for astronomy, supported by fifteen countries...

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Quinn is currently working towards the creation of the Astrophysical Virtual Observatory, a massive virtual database

Database

A database is an organized collection of data for one or more purposes, usually in digital form. The data are typically organized to model relevant aspects of reality , in a way that supports processes requiring this information...

 of astronomical data, designed to allow astrophysicists to carry out research using existing data without using valuable telescope

Telescope

A telescope is an instrument that aids in the observation of remote objects by collecting electromagnetic radiation . The first known practical telescopes were invented in the Netherlands at the beginning of the 1600s , using glass lenses...

 time.

Prior to working at ESO, Dr. Quinn taught astrophysics at Caltech for several years, working with Gerald Jay Sussman

Gerald Jay Sussman

Gerald Jay Sussman is the Panasonic Professor of Electrical Engineering at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology . He received his S.B. and Ph.D. degrees in mathematics from MIT in 1968 and 1973 respectively. He has been involved in artificial intelligence research at MIT since 1964...

. His scientific interests include the study of dark matter

Dark matter

In astronomy and cosmology, dark matter is matter that neither emits nor scatters light or other electromagnetic radiation, and so cannot be directly detected via optical or radio astronomy...

, computational cosmology

Physical cosmology

Physical cosmology, as a branch of astronomy, is the study of the largest-scale structures and dynamics of the universe and is concerned with fundamental questions about its formation and evolution. For most of human history, it was a branch of metaphysics and religion...

, galactic formation, and MACHOs

Machos

Machos is a community in western Elis in Greece. The population is around 200. Its dialing code is 26230...

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