Coyne, born January 19, 1933, in Baltimore, Maryland, completed his bachelor's
degree in mathematics and his licentiate in philosophy at Fordham University, New
York City, in 1958. He obtained his doctorate in astronomy from Georgetown University
in 1962. In 1976 he became a senior research fellow at the Lunar and Planetary
Laboratory (LPL) of the University of Arizona (UA) and a lecturer in the UA
Department of Astronomy. The following year he served as Director of the UA's
Catalina Observatory and as Associate Director of the LPL. Coyne became Director
of the Vatican Observatory Research Group in 1978, and also Associate Director of the UA Steward Observatory. During
1979-80 he served as Acting Director and Head of the UA Steward Observatory and
the Astronomy Department, and thereafter he continued as an adjunct professor in
the UA Astronomy Department. He retired as Director of the VO in August 2006. He
remains on the staff of the VO as Director Emeritus and President of the Vatican
Observatory Foundation. A member of the Society of Jesus since the age of 18, he
completed the licentiate in sacred theology at Woodstock College, Woodstock, Maryland,
and was ordained a Roman Catholic priest in 1965.
Mendel Medal Lecture:
"The Dance of the Fertile Universe: Did God Do It?"
George V. Coyne, S.J., Ph.D., president of the Vatican Observatory Foundation, is the 38th recipient of the Mendel Medal. He will deliver a public lecture entitled, "The Dance of the Fertile Universe: Did God Do It?," on Friday, September 5, 2008, at 2:30 p.m. in the Connelly Center Cinema. Refreshments will be served at 2 p.m. in the Cinema Foyer.
Coyne's research interests have been in polarimetric studies of various subjects
including the interstellar medium, stars with extended atmospheres and Seyfert galaxies,
which are a group of spiral galaxies with very small and unusually bright star like
centers. (Polarimetry is the technique of measuring or analyzing the polarization
of light. When light rays exhibit different properties in different directions,
the light is said to be polarized.) Most recently he has been studying the polarization
produced in cataclysmic variables, or interacting binary star systems that give
off sudden bursts of intense energy, and dust about young stars.
He is a member of the International Astronomical Union, the American Astronomical
Society, the Astronomical Society of the Pacific, the American Physical Society
and the Optical Society of America. He has been awarded the following Ph.D. degrees
honoris causa: 1980, St. Peter's University, Jersey City, New Jersey, USA; 1994,
Loyola University, Chicago, USA; 1995, University of Padua, Padua, Italy; 1997,
Pontifical Theological Academy, Jagellonian University, Cracow; 2005 Marquette University,
Milwaukee, Wisconsin, USA; 2007 Boston College, Boston, Massachusetts, USA.
Coyne, born January 19, 1933, in Baltimore, Maryland, completed his bachelor's
degree in mathematics and his licentiate in philosophy at Fordham University, New
York City, in 1958. He obtained his doctorate in astronomy from Georgetown University
in 1962. In 1976 he became a senior research fellow at the Lunar and Planetary
Laboratory (LPL) of the University of Arizona (UA) and a lecturer in the UA
Department of Astronomy. The following year he served as Director of the UA's
Catalina Observatory and as Associate Director of the LPL. Coyne became Director
of the Vatican Observatory Research Group in 1978, and also Associate Director of the UA Steward Observatory. During
1979-80 he served as Acting Director and Head of the UA Steward Observatory and
the Astronomy Department, and thereafter he continued as an adjunct professor in
the UA Astronomy Department. He retired as Director of the VO in August 2006. He
remains on the staff of the VO as Director Emeritus and President of the Vatican
Observatory Foundation. A member of the Society of Jesus since the age of 18, he
completed the licentiate in sacred theology at Woodstock College, Woodstock, Maryland,
and was ordained a Roman Catholic priest in 1965.
