The telescope
will uncover
the mysteries of the universe through different scientific investigations: probing the distribution of dark
matter and the characteristics of dark energy, measuring the abundance
and characteristics of planets orbiting other stars, and providing
observations and surveys to study many other astrophysical subjects.
For example, check out my team's 2012 Hubble Space Telescope results on the motion of the Andromeda galaxy M31:
our
2019 improved
measurements with Gaia, or my team's
2014 Hubble
Space Telescope results on the rotation of the Large Magellanic
Cloud
The specific investigations that I lead address,
e.g., the
black hole at the center of our Milky Way galaxy, and
the structure
dwarf galaxies and the nature of dark matter.
The software for the site was also freely available from STScI for use
in museum kiosk exhibits, and that version won
a MUSE
award from the American Association of Museums. There was also
a Dutch
version of this website.
Biography
I was born in
the Netherlands. I
acquired a love for science at an early age and turned my curiosity
into the nature of the Universe into my profession
I obtained M.Sc. degrees in astronomy and mathematics at Leiden University, and subsequently a PhD degree in astronomy for a thesis entitled Velocity Profiles and Dynamical Modeling of Galaxies .
NASA then awarded
me a Hubble
Fellowship to come to the United States to continue my research,
where I worked for three years at the Institute for Advanced Study
in Princeton.
There I became a frequent user of the Hubble
Space Telescope.
I then moved to the Space
Telescope Science Institute (STScI) in Baltimore as the Institute Fellow (later renamed
Giacconi Fellowship).
I stayed at STScI, where I am now a tenured Astronomer on the
scientific staff. I am also an Adjunct Professor in the Department of Physics and Astronomy
of the nearby Johns Hopkins
University.
From 2002-2005, I led the team at STScI responsible for the
calibration and user support of the Advanced Camera for Surveys
(ACS) and Wide
Field Planatery Camera 2 (WFPC2) instruments on the Hubble Space Telescope.
From 2006-2014, I led the team at STScI responsible for issues related
to the telescope optics, focus, and guiding on the James Webb Space Telescope.
Since 2014, I have been the Head of the Science Operations Center for the Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope. As a member of the Leadership Team of the STScI
Organization, I also participate in setting the overall direction
for the work of the approximately 750 people at STScI on multiple NASA space
astronomy missions.
I am an expert on the structure and dynamics of galaxies and stellar
systems in the nearby Universe, and on the central black holes that
they often contain. I have authored hundreds
of papers in scientific journals, books and other publications,
which have been cited more than 18,000 times. My research and the images that I have
obtained with the Hubble Space Telescope have been discussed on television and radio, and in newspapers, magazines and
museum exhibits around the world.
I have supervised or co-supervised the research of
many graduate
students and post-doctoral
researchers.
I am a member of the International
Astronomical Union, the American
Astronomical Society, the European Astronomical Society, and the Dutch Astronomers Club.
I have various hobbies and interests, as discussed on my
Personal Homepage.
Research Papers, Presentations, Projects
Selected Awards & Honors
Research Highlights and Media Reports
Selected Highlights:
Video Clips:
Selected Popular Articles authored:
Last modified May 26, 2023.
Roeland van der Marel, Space Telescope
Science Institute, 3700 San Martin Drive, Baltimore, MD 21218, USA
marel@stsci.edu.
Disclaimer: The postings on http://www.stsci.edu/~marel/ and all of
its subpages are my own and do not necessarily reflect the views of
STScI.
Copyright Notice.
