Speaker: Dr. Anthony Remijan

Host: Steven Kawaler 

Title: From HST to ALMA: An ISU Graduate’s Leap from Ames to the Andes.

Abstract: In the fall of 1996, the Department of Astronomy and Physics at ISU took a chance on an undergraduate from the University of Illinois, admitting me into their Ph.D. program. My years at ISU were transformative—filled with knowledge gained, friendships forged, and the discipline that would ultimately prepare me to help commission one of the most ambitious ground-based observatories ever built: the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA).In this talk, I’ll begin by sharing some of my earliest research at ISU, using the Hubble Space Telescope to measure the galaxy merger rate in the local universe. Then, I’ll describe how my scientific path took a dramatic turn—nearly a 180-degree shift in observing frequency—from optical studies of galaxies to probing the building blocks of our molecular origins in astronomical environments. Since then, our research group has detected dozens of large, complex molecules—many familiar from everyday life, whether sizzling on a barbecue or cooling your car’s engine. Along the way, I’ll pay tribute to my mentors: Dr. Russell Lavery, who set me on my research path at ISU, and Dr. Lewis E. Snyder, whose guidance and challenges shaped me in ways that led to my current role as Director of the Green Bank Observatory.

Bio: Remijan is a prominent astronomer and scientist based in Charlottesville, Virginia. After earning his undergraduate and PhD at the University of Illinois(Urbana-Champaign), and teaching and holding positions with NASA, he joined NRAO as a postdoctoral researcher. Quickly rising through the ranks, Remijan became a staff scientist and held leadership positions such as Division Head for Science User Support and Research and Deputy assistant Director for the North American Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array Science Center (NAASC). He played a crucial role in commissioning the Atacama Large Millimeter Array (ALMA).