| Geoffrey Marcy | |
|---|---|
| Born | September 29, 1954 |
| Nationality | American |
| Fields | Astronomy, Astrophysics |
| Institutions | Carnegie Institution for Science San Francisco State University University of California, Berkeley |
| Alma mater | University of California, Los Angeles (B.A.) University of California, Santa Cruz (Ph.D.) |
| Doctoral advisor | Steven S. Vogt [1] |
| Known for | extrasolar planet discoveries |
| Notable awards | Henry Draper Medal (2001) Shaw Prize (2005) |
Geoffrey W. Marcy (born September 29, 1954, St. Clair Shores, Michigan) is an American astronomer, who is currently Professor of Astronomy at the University of California, Berkeley, famous for discovering more extrasolar planets than anyone else, 70 out of the first 100 to be discovered, along with R. Paul Butler and Debra Fischer.[2]
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Marcy graduated with a Bachelor of Arts Summa Cum Laude with a double major in physics and astronomy from the University of California, Los Angeles in 1976. He then completed a Doctor of Philosophy in Astrophysics and Astronomy in 1982 at the University of California, Santa Cruz.
He has held teaching positions, first at the Carnegie Institution of Washington as a Carnegie Fellow from 1982 to 1984. Marcy then worked as an Associate Professor of Physics and Astronomy from 1984 to 1996 and then as a Distinguished University Professor from 1997 to 1999 at the San Francisco State University. He is currently an Adjunct Professor of Physics and Astronomy at the San Francisco State University and a Professor of Astronomy at the University of California, Berkeley and the Director of Center for Integrative Planetary Science.
In the early 1980s, his research into stellar magnetic fields had reached a dead end.
Marcy confirmed Michel Mayor and Didier Queloz's discovery of the first extrasolar planet orbiting a Sun-like star—51 Pegasi b. Other achievements have included discovering the first multiple planet system around a star similar to our own (Upsilon Andromedae), the first transiting planet around another star (HD209458b), the first extrasolar planet orbiting beyond 5 AU (55 Cancri d), and the first Neptune-sized planets (Gliese 436b and 55 Cancri e).
He is featured on History Channel's "The Universe" programs.
He is interviewed by Planetary Radio at least three times.
On October 28, 2006 he received an honorary doctorate in science from the University of Delaware.
Marcy lives with his wife Susan Kegley in California.
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