University of Arizona
The Department of Astronomy and Steward Observatory on the campus of the University of Arizona form one of the world's leading astronomy research organizations.
The Department of Astronomy currently has the largest astronomy graduate program in the country. The Center for Astronomy Education is devoted to improving teaching and learning in Astro 101, through the development of research-validated curriculum and assessment materials for use in the Astro 101 classroom. Theorists in the Department's Theoretical Astrophysics Program (TAP) have performed pioneering work in the physics of the cosmic microwave background, weak gravitational lensing, the mechanism of supernova explosions, the structure of the intergalactic medium at high redshifts, multi-dimensional stellar evolution, and the atmospheres and spectra of giant planets and brown dwarfs. The department's Life and Planets Astrobiology Center (LAPLACE) teams with the National Optical Astronomy Observatory and other national and international participants in striving to answer fundamental questions about the origins of life.
The University's pioneering astronomical facilities in and around Tucson (some in partnership with other institutions) comprise some of the pre-eminent observing sites in the world: the first national observing facility for optical/infrared astronomy on Kitt Peak; the Multiple Mirror Telescope (MMT) on Mt. Hopkins, which led to the University's forefront adaptive optics research; the Large Binocular Telescope (LBT) on Mt. Graham, forerunner of the Giant Magellan Telescope; and the Steward Observatory--a gift from Mrs. Lavinia Steward in 1916--which provided the Near Infrared Camera and Multi-Object Spectrometer (NICMOS) for the Hubble Space Telescope (HST). University of Arizona scientists also played a key role in development of NASA's Spitzer Space Telescope and are developing a 40-Mpixel camera for use on NASA's James Webb Space Telescope.
The Steward Observatory Mirror Lab
The Steward Observatory Mirror Lab, located under the east side of the UA football stadium, is developing the world's largest spun-cast mirrors for the GIANT MAGELLAN TELESCOPE, as well as for others in the next generation of large telescopes, including the 8.4-m LSST. The Mirror Lab has provided large, high quality optics for three 6.5-m mirrors (the MMT and Magellan Telescope Projects) and two 8.4-m mirrors for the Large Binocular Telescope.
