Robert P. Kirshner has been named executive director of the Thirty Meter Telescope International Observatory, or TIO.
He’ll succeed Edward C. Stone, who will retire from the TMT project May 15.
Kirshner “is an esteemed scientist known for his discipline-defining work in the field of supernova explosions and their application to the measurement of the history of the universe,” according to a TIO news release.
A graduate of Harvard College, Kirshner received his Ph.D. in astronomy from Caltech. He served as a postdoctoral scholar at the Kitt Peak National Observatory and then on the faculty at the University of Michigan for nine years before moving to Harvard, where he served 31 years on the faculty.
“We are excited and fortunate to have Robert Kirshner join this effort at a pivotal time,” Henry Yang, chair of the TIO Board, said in the news release. “At Michigan, at Harvard, and at the Moore Foundation, he has demonstrated vision, commitment, and success in enabling the progress of science to advance human understanding. He will be a wonderful colleague and a thoughtful force for good, respecting the culture and people of Hawaii.”
Kirshner said he is “not taking this job because it is easy. I am taking this job because it demands all I can bring to it. TIO has an opportunity to build a world-leading telescope in a community of trust. We have a steep path ahead, and I am eager to start.”