Dr. F. Peter Schloerb Receives the Chancellor's Medal

Thursday, October 6, 2022
Dr. F. Peter Schloerb

Professor in the Department of Astronomy, College of Natural Sciences Thursday, March 23, 2023, 4:00 p.m. Great Hall, Old Chapel UMass and the Large Millimeter Telescope In 2019, the first image ever made of a black hole triggered international excitement. The stunning image brought enormous attention to the University of Massachusetts, which played a key part in the global collaboration that captured the image.

Professor in the Department of Astronomy, College of Natural Sciences Thursday, March 23, 2023, 4:00 p.m. Great Hall, Old Chapel UMass and the Large Millimeter Telescope In 2019, the first image ever made of a black hole triggered international excitement. The stunning image brought enormous attention to the University of Massachusetts, which played a key part in the global collaboration that captured the image. The image of the black hole was made possible by UMass Amherst’s leadership in the construction and operation of the 50-meter-diameter Large Millimeter Telescope (LMT), located atop a mountain in Mexico. One of the university’s most ambitious scientific projects, the LMT was built jointly by the country of Mexico and UMass Amherst. Professor Schloerb, an award-winning radio astronomer and planetary scientist who, has been a leader in the LMT project for over 30 years. In this lecture, he will tell the story of the university’s role in the conception, design, and construction of the world-leading telescope. He will discuss its most notable scientific achievement—the black hole image—and the LMT’s prospects for future exciting discoveries