The United Kingdom Astronomy Technology Centre

Professor Ian Robson

BSc, Phd, FRAS, CPhys, FInstP.

Director, also Director STFC Technology Department

First class honours in Physics from Queen Mary College, London in 1969;
PhD in observational cosmology from QMC – making the first observation of the turnover of the 3K cosmic background radiation, showing the Plankian nature of the spectrum;
Lecturer at QMC and MSc Astrophysics Course Organiser;
Senior Lectureship at Preston Polytechnic in 1978;
Reader in Astrophysics University of Central Lancashire (UCLAN) 1983;
Chair in Astrophysics 1986;
Head of Department and Director of Observatories UCLAN 1987 – 1992;
Director of the James Clerk Maxwell Telescope and the Joint Astronomy Centre, Hilo, Hawaii 1992 – 2002;
Honorary Professor University of Edinburgh 2005;
Honorary Fellow University of Central Lancashire 2006.

Research interests: submillimetre astronomy, active galaxies, multifrequency observations of blazars, debris disks. Published over 200 papers in astronomy, a textbook on Active Galactic Nuclei, edited four international conference proceedings.

Course organiser and originator of many astronomy and science and society courses (London and UCLAN), supervised 14 PhD and 2 MPhil students.

Member of and Chair of numerous SERC/PPARC committees/boards from 1980 – 1992;
President of the International Astronomy Union Commission 55 on ‘Communicating Astronomy with the Public 2005 – 2008;
IAU working Group on the International Year of Astronomy 2009;
UK lead for IYA2009;
Council Member of the Royal Astronomical Society 2005 – 2008;
Vice President of the Royal Scottish Society for the Arts 2008 – present.

Interests: sailing, skiing, flying, aerobatics.