Arcadio Poveda

Arcadio Poveda
Born 15 July 1930
Mérida, Yucatán [1]
Residence Mexico City
Nationality Mexican
Fields Astronomy
Institutions National Autonomous University of Mexico
Alma mater University of California, Berkeley[2]
Known for Poveda's formula[3]
Notable awards National Prize for Arts and Science (Mexico, 1975)

Renán Arcadio Poveda Ricalde (born on 15 July 1930) is a prominent Mexican astronomer who developed a method to calculate the mass of elliptical galaxies.[1] He received Mexico's National Prize for Arts and Sciences in 1975, chaired its National Astronomical Observatory from 1968 to 1980 and was elected to The National College in 1989.[2]

Poveda was born in Mérida, Yucatán. He initially enrolled at the National Autonomous University of Mexico but ended up graduating with both a Bachelor of Arts degree (1953) and a PhD in Astronomy (1956) from the University of California, Berkeley.[2] Afterward, he moved back to Mexico and enrolled at the Institute of Astronomy of the National Autonomous University, where he has worked as a researcher since 1956. As a visiting scholar, he has lectured at the Institute of Astrophysics in France (CNRS, 1963), Columbia University (1967), Kitt Peak National Observatory (1981–82, 1983–84), and at the University of California, San Diego (1982–83).[2]

A public planetarium in his native Mérida, Yucatán, is named in his honor.[4]

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 El Colegio Nacional. "Miembros: Poveda Ricalde, Arcadio" (in Spanish). Retrieved 2008-06-08.
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 Poveda, Arcadio. "Curriculum vitae" (PDF) (in Spanish). Retrieved 2008-06-10.
  3. ↑ Binney, James (1982). "Dynamics of Elliptical Galaxies and Other Spheroidal Components". Annual Reviews. Retrieved 2008-06-10.
  4. ↑ Municipality of Mérida. "Planetario Arcadio Poveda" (in Spanish). Archived from the original on 6 June 2008. Retrieved 2008-06-10.