President of Associated Universities, Inc. and Research Professor at Johns Hopkins University
Riccardo Giacconi is an astronomer with a long history and expertise in deep surveys. Giacconi was the principal investigator (PI) of the program which discovered the first X-ray stars and the X-ray background in the 1960s and conceived of and led the implementation of the Uhuru and Einstein X-ray Observatories in the 1970s. He is the PI for the ultradeep survey with Chandra -- the "Chandra Deep Field South" -- that has already obtained the deepest X-ray exposures to date with a million-second observation. He is also participating in the follow-up optical work in this field with HST and VLT. He is an expert in the analysis and interpretation of astronomical data.
Dr. Giaconni has held chairs at Harvard University, Milano University, and Johns Hopkins University. He has held positions as Associate Director for High Energy Astrophysics at the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics, first Director of the Space Telescope Science Institute, and Director General of the European Southern Observatory. He is currently President of Associated Universities, Inc., and a Research Professor at Johns Hopkins University.
Chandra Chronicles: Riccardo Giacconi: A High-Energy Visonary Wins Nobel Prize (10/08/02)[ Press Index ] [ Interviews ]
Revised: December 23, 2009