Joel Stebbins
Joel Stebbins (July 30, 1878 – March 16, 1966) was an American astronomer who pioneered photoelectric photometry in astronomy. He earned his Ph.D at the University of California. He was director of the University of Illinois Observatory from 1903 to 1922 where he performed innovative work with the selenium cell. [1] In 1922 he became director of the Washburn Observatory at the University of Wisconsin–Madison where he remained until 1948. After 1948, Stebbins continued his research at Lick Observatory until his final retirement in 1958.
Stebbins brought photoelectric photometry from its infancy in the early 1900s to a mature technique by the 1950s, when it succeeded photography as the primary method of photometry. Stebbins used the new technique to investigate eclipsing binaries, the reddening of starlight by interstellar dust, colors of galaxies, and variable stars.
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[edit] Honors
Awards
- Rumford Prize of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences (1913) [2]
- Henry Draper Medal of the National Academy of Sciences (1915)[3]
- Bruce Medal of the Astronomical Society of the Pacific (1941) [4]
- Gold Medal of the Royal Astronomical Society (1950) [5]
- Henry Norris Russell Lectureship of the American Astronomical Society (1956) [6]
Named after him
- The crater Stebbins on the Moon
- Asteroid 2300 Stebbins
[edit] See also
[edit] References
- ^ "History of the University of Illinois Observatory and 12" Refractor". Astronomical Society at theUniversity of Illinois. http://uias.astro.illinois.edu/uofiscope.html. Retrieved 19 February 2011.
- ^ "Past Recipients of the Rumford Prize". American Academy of Arts and Sciences. http://www.amacad.org/about/rumford.aspx. Retrieved 19 February 2011.
- ^ "Henry Draper Medal". National Academy of Sciences. http://www.nasonline.org/site/PageServer?pagename=AWARDS_draper. Retrieved 19 February 2011.
- ^ "Past Winners of the Catherine Wolfe Bruce Gold Medal". Astronomical Society of the Pacific. http://astrosociety.org/membership/awards/pastbruce.html. Retrieved 19 February 2011.
- ^ "Winners of the Gold Medal of the Royal Astronomical Society". Royal Astronomical Society. http://www.ras.org.uk/awards-and-grants/awards/268. Retrieved 19 February 2011.
- ^ "Grants, Prizes and Awards". American Astronomical Society. http://aas.org/grants/awards.php#russell. Retrieved 19 February 2011.
