Andy Longmore
BSc, PhD, FRAS.
Head of Project Science
B.Sc. Leicester University 1st Class Honours in Physics and Astronomy (1971); Ph.D. Leicester University on Infrared Photometry of Eclipsing Binaries (1975), being the first to show that the secondary star of the beta Lyrae system (the class definer) is more luminous than the primary.
Junior Research Fellow at the UK Schmidt Telescope Unit, Australia, from 1975-1977 - ran the non-survey programme, discovered a comet, many planetary nebulae, team was first to identify an HI-rich category of low surface brightness galaxies. Senior Research Fellow at ROE from 1978-79; Support Scientist at UKIRT, Hawaii 1979-85, involved in commissioning the telescope and several new instruments, telescope scientist from 1983-85 and also initiated the highly successful UKIRT Service Observing Programme; Staff Scientist within UKIRT Support Group at ROE 1985-89, carrying out first ever lunar occultation measurement of the Galactic Centre, establishing infrared observations of RR Lyr stars as a key method for distance scale measurements, making first ever IR observations of globular cluster main sequence stars to produce globular cluster IR colour magnitude diagrams; Head of UKIRT Support Group at the ROE 1989-94, leading IR spectroscopic work on very low mass stars to help identify the first brown dwarfs; Head of UK ATC Project Science Group since 1998; Project Manager, NAOMI Adaptive Optics Project from 1994 to 2000.
Current Research Interests. Search for, identification of and further understanding of brown dwarfs and planets, via infrared imaging (including adaptive optics) and spectroscopy. Published over 70 papers in refereed journals and 50 in other fora.
Member of and/or chair of several SRC/SERC/PPARC committees/panels and national and international working groups, from 1978 onwards.
Applications of Astronomy
13-15 October 2010
This conference will give an overview of technologies and techniques developed in astronomy, highlight the solutions they offer for solving commercially relevant issues, and provide information and guidance on how academics and industry can collaborate to develop future applications.
The conference will include a public lecture from Will Whitehorn, President of Virgin Galactic, on the evening of the 13th October.