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 some 20,000 times. My research and the images that I have obtained with Hubble and other telescopes have been discussed on television and radio, and in newspapers, magazines and museum exhibits around the world.
My career has focused on performing forefront research in
a wide range of subject areas, on using and advancing
state-of-start astronomical observatories in
space, on securing and using government funding
to build, lead and manage large teams of experts
in these areas, on training next generations of
scientists, post-doctoral researchers
and graduate
students, and on
enthusing the general public about astronomy.
[Hubble]
The High-Resolution Space Telescope Proper Motion
Collaboration (HSTPROMO)
The Hubble Space Telescope has
been revolutionizing astronomy since its launch in 1990, due to its
exquisite sharpness and stability, and its wide range of scientific
instruments. I am
a
frequent user of Hubble. I established and lead
the HSTPROMO collaboration, and have led
many of its projects over the past 2 decades. The collaboration
consists of science investigations with various
high-resolution space telescopes, and especially Hubble, aimed at
improving our dynamical understanding of stars, clusters, and galaxies
in the nearby Universe through measurement and interpretation of
their proper
(i.e., sideways) motions.
For example, check out my team's 2012 Hubble Space Telescope results on the motion of the Andromeda galaxy M31:
or my 2014 Hubble Space Telescope results on the rotation of the Large Magellanic Cloud
Also, 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.
[Webb]
JWST Telescope Scientist Team
The James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) is a 6.5m diameter
telescope launched by NASA in 2021. Its infrared-detecting technology
is revolutionizing our understanding of the Universe across
a wide range of
topics. I am the Principal Investigator of its
the Telescope
Scientist Team. Over two decades we have provided scientific
support of Webb Observatory development, and we are now using
Guaranteed Time Observer (GTO) time to obtain and analyze observations
in the subject areas of exoplanet transit spectroscopy, high-contrast
imaging, and Local Group Proper Motion Science. The specific
investigations that I lead myself 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.
Also, from 2006-2014, I grew and led the team at STScI responsible for
supporting the JWST telescope optics development, and the preparations
for its alignment and guiding. This laid essential building blocks for
the successful focusing of JWST during observatory commissioning in
early 2022 through a complex
wavefront sensing and control process.
[Gaia]
European Space Agency Gaia Mission
The Gaia mission was
launched by the European Space Agency in 2013 to perform global
astrometry and to build the largest, most precise three-dimensional
map of our Galaxy and its nearby environment by surveying nearly two
billion
objects. Its public
catalogs have been used by astronomers worldwide for studies of
subject areas across astronomy.
I myself published
the first
paper to use Gaia data to study
the
dynamics of a Local Group galaxy, as well as
the first
paper to use Gaia data to study
the dynamics
of the Andromeda Galaxy System. Moreover, as part of
the HSTPROMO
collaboration that I lead we have now used Gaia data
for studies
of a wide range of other topics in Local Group dynamics.
[Roman]
Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope
Some of the world's most
powerful telescopes
are in space.
The Nancy
Grace Roman Space Telescope, formerly called the Wide-Field
Infrared Survey Telescope (WFIRST), will provide images as sharp
as the Hubble Space Telescope,
but over a hundred times larger area. This new space observatory
is in
development for launch in late-2026. The telescope
will uncover
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.
From 2014-2023 I was
the Head
of the
Science Operations Center for Roman. In this role I built from
scratch a team of more than 200 matrixed STScI staff to support the
mission and build the systems
for scheduling,
calibrating, and archiving the mission data. I led this team
through successful completion of the mission formulation, design and
early-development phases. I also negotiated the government contracts to enable this work through launch. As a member of
the Leadership
Team of the STScI
Organization, I also participated in setting the overall direction
for all our work on NASA space astronomy missions.
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.
[Outreach]
Black Holes: Gravity's Relentless Pull
In 2004-2005 I led a team that
developed an educational website
about the fascinating properties of Black Holes. I also wrote most of
its scientific content.
The
site won the Top Prize of
the 2005
Pirelli Awards for the best internet site worldwide devoted to the
comunication of science and technology.
[Research]
Papers, Presentations, Projects, Statistics
Selected Popular Articles authored:
Last modified November 27, 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.
