Honorary Doctorates for World-Leaders in Astronomy

This week, UCD and TCD awarded Honorary Doctorates to two leading individuals in the world of astronomy. Congratulations to both Prof. George Miley, one of the originators of the LOFAR radio telescope concept, and Ms. Naledi Pandor, a key player in the development of the Square Kilometre Array and astronomy in general in South Africa.

 

Naledi Pandor

As Minister of Science & Technology in South Africa (2009-2012, 2014-to date), Ms. Naledi Pandor has been a tireless champion for the cause of science and scientific research. She and her team successfully won a competitive bid for the siting of part of the future Square Kilometre Array (SKA) telescope in South Africa. This will be a transformative piece of global astronomy infrastructure into the next decade and one of the largest scientific endeavours in history. Ms. Pandor is a powerful and enduring advocate for the importance of education and science in moving Africa forward, empowering its citizens and inspiring its children.

 

George Kildare Miley Sc. D

George Miley is Emeritus Professor of Astronomy at Leiden University. His research area is distant radio galaxies. He has co-authored more than 350 refereed research papers and was involved in several fundamental discoveries. His distinctions include the Shell Oeuvre Prize, a professorship of the Netherlands Royal Academy of Arts and Sciences, an honorary fellowship of the UK Royal Astronomical Society and an asteroid named after him. In 2012 he received a Dutch knighthood for his services to astronomy and society. Miley has championed the use of astronomy as a unique tool for education and development, in particular for very young children and to stimulate international development. In 1997 he initiated the Low Frequency Array (LOFAR), a revolutionary radio telescope, with stations spread over Europe, supporting the development of an all Ireland facility (I-LOFAR) at Birr Castle. Professor Miley was born and educated in Dublin, at Gonzaga College and UCD, and although he has spent most of his working life in The Netherlands, he retains an interest in the development of Irish astronomy and education and has offered practical support to Irish initiatives.

Members of the Dutch and Irish LOFAR teams under the watchful eye of the 3rd Earl of Rosse. Left to right: Prof. Huub Rottgering (Director of Leiden Observatory), Prof. Peter Gallagher (TCD Physics), Prof. George Miley (Leiden Observatory with his Honorary Degree from Trinity), and I-LOFAR PhD students at Trinity, Ciara Maguire and Pearse Murphy.