The James Webb Space Telescope by Professor James Schombert
"The Next Generation Space Telescope (now called the James Webb
Space Telescope) launched on Christmas Day, 2021 to usher in the
3rd generation of space observatories. The heart of the
telescope is a 6.5 meter hexagon gold-plated beryllium mirror
optimized for near and far-IR observations. Launched into an L2
halo orbit, JWST is expected to operate for at least 10 years
studying exoplanets, cosmology and the early universe. This talk
will outline the characteristics of the telescope and its science
goals."
About Professor James Schombert
Dr James Schombert is an Observational Astronomer and Professor in the Physics Department at the University of Oregon. He studies galaxy formation and evolution, especially in relation to the history of star formation in low surface brightness galaxies and the evolution of color in distant galaxy clusters. He has also been conspiring with our October speaker Professor Stacy McGaugh in testing and exploring the consequences of MOdified Newtonian Dynamics (MOND), which could eventually lead to the demise of the dark matter paradigm. In 1995, he discovered a previously unknown type of galaxy, called a dwarf spiral, and he has published at least one paper on a topic that covered every known (electromagnetic) wavelength. Asteroid (120452) Schombert is named after him.
Professor Schombert received his Ph.D. in Astronomy from Yale University and then spent 4 years as a Senior Research Fellow at Caltech. He was an Assistant Professor at the University of Michigan for 4 years and then served for 6 years as a Project Scientist and Staff Scientist at NASA/JPL and NASA HQ. He joined the faculty of the University of Oregon in 1996. Aside from teaching astronomy in the Physics Department, he is a member of the Affiliated Faculty in the Honors College, where he teaches courses in the philosophy of science. He also develops e-science projects for the International Virtual Observatory Alliance.