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Geoffrey Marcy, Curriculum Vitae

Biography

Geoff Marcy is known internationally for leading the discovery of 70 of the first 100 planets ever found around other stars. He and his collaborator, Paul Butler, discovered the first system of planets ever found around any Sun-like star, namely Upsilon Andromedae, just as our Sun has 8 planets.  Working with Steven Vogt who designed and built the spectrometers, they also discovered the first planets having orbits similar to our Jupiter, eccentric orbits as predicted by Newton, and having masses as low as 15x Earth’s mass.

Working with Greg Henry, they co-discovered the first planet that crosses in front of (transiting) another star, dimming it (HD209458), a technique later used to find Earth-size planets.  Dr. Marcy also discovered a paucity of brown dwarfs orbiting other stars, dubbing it the “Brown Dwarf Desert”.

Dr. Marcy and his student Paul Butler invented the precise Doppler technique that uses iodine gas (informed by Solar physicists at Mount Wilson), and they built the iodine Doppler system for both the Keck and Lick Observatories.  They wrote novel algorithms to analyze spectra of stars to achieve the unprecedented Doppler precision of 2 meters per second, algorithms still used by students at the Univ. of California and Caltech.

Dr. Marcy led the funding of the Automated Planet Finder (APF) telescope at Lick Observatory, obtaining $6.4M from the U.S. Navy and $650K from Ken and Gloria Levy.  Dr. Steven Vogt led the optical design and construction.  Hundreds of students and faculty within the University of California and Caltech still use the iodine-based Doppler system at the APF and Keck telescopes.  Dr. Marcy also obtained the funds for the student telescope on Campbell Hall at UC Berkeley, used by thousands of students every year.

Dr. Marcy with his student Erik Petigura and collaborator Andrew Howard used NASA-Kepler data to determine the Occurrence Rate of Earth-Size Planets around Sun-like stars (Petigura, Howard, and Marcy 2013), showing that about 20% of all Sun-like stars have Earth-size planets with temperatures suitable for liquid water.  The Milky Way thus contains tens of billions of luke-warm Earth-size planets, fertile hunting grounds for life in the universe.

Dr. Marcy, working with Andrew Howard, launched the new spectrometer, the Keck Planet Finder, at the Keck Observatory and he launched a major search for extraterrestrial intelligent life, Breakthrough Listen, funded by Yuri Milner.

His student, Dr. Debra Fischer, led a determination of the occurrence rate of binary stars among the smallest stars, the “M dwarfs”.  Another student, Dr. Lauren Weiss, led a determination of the relationship between planet sizes and masses, implying their density, including rocky planets like Earth.  Their research papers have each garnered over 500 citations. Another student, Dr. Kathryn Peek, determined the enrichment of our Milky Way Galaxy of the heaviest atoms, fused in supernova explosions.  He works with Dr. Beatriz Villarroel in a search for extraterrestrial intelligent life in the VASCO Project.

Dr. Marcy spent his career fighting for equal rights and a welcoming environment for all people, including women, people of color, and all underrepresented groups. Here are the facts about the Title IX investigation that took place in 2015.

Dr. Marcy is now retired, living with his wife of 30 years, helping her build a pollinator-friendly organic farm and butterfly haven.

Geoff with Susan (married 1994-present)

Present Position

Director, Space Laser Awareness, 2018-present.

Education

B. A. Double Major: Physics and Astronomy, UCLA, Summa Cum Laude, Phi Beta Kappa, 1976
Ph.D., Astronomy and Astrophysics, Univ. of Calif. Santa Cruz, 1982

Awards

Elected to be a member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences (2010)
Discover Magazine: Space Scientist of the Year (2003)
NASA Medal for Exceptional Scientific Achievement (2003)
Carl Sagan Award, from American Astronautical Society and Planetary Society 2002)
Elected to be a member of the National Academy of Sciences (April 2002)
Beatrice Tinsley Prize, from American Astronomical Society (2002)
California Scientist of the Year (2000)
UCLA Alumni Professional Achievement Award, (1999)
Certificate of Recognition by the Extrasolar Planetary Foundation (First Ever Issued) (1999)
IAU Commission 51 Bioastronomy Medal of Honor (First Ever Issued), (1997);
Alumnus of the Year, U.C. Santa Cruz (1997)
Manne Siegbahn Award from Physics Committee of the Swedish Academy, (1996)
California Academy of Sciences Fellow, (1996)
ABC News Hour: “Person of the Week“‘ (Jan. 26, 1996)

Publications

388 Publications with G.Marcy first author or co-author in peer-reviewed journals, 1979-2024.
60,828 Total Citations of those peer-reviewed papers.
746 Publications with G.Marcy first author or co-author, 1979-2024
62,996 Citations of all publications with author or co-author G.Marcy.
h-index: 148 (148 of his publications have more than 148 citations.)Publications

Research Achievements

Discovered 70 of first 100 Planets around Other Stars
Discovered 1st System of Planets around a Sun-Like Star (Upsilon And)
Co-Discovered 1st planet with a density of rock (Kepler-10b)
Co-Discovered First Transiting Planet Around another Star (HD209458)
Discovered 1st Saturn-Mass Planets (HD46375, HD16141)
Discovered 1st Extrasolar Planet Orbiting Beyond 5 AU (55 Cancri d)
First Zeeman Measurements of Magnetic Fields on Solar-Type Stars
Discovered the“Brown Dwarf Desert”: Few BDs orbit Sun-like stars
Developed Method of Precise Doppler Measurements (3 meter/sec)
Found our Solar System is rare: Circular vs common eccentric orbits
Co-Discovered 1st Neptune-Sized Planets: Gliese 436b and 55 Cancri e
Laser Communication by Extraterrestrials: A Emerging SETI Desert

Major Lectures

The Distinguished Pappalardo Lecture in Physics: MIT, 6 Dec 2012
The Next 40 Years of Exoplanets – 27 May 2011: Lecture at MIT
Neil Armstrong’s Invited Lectures by D.Des Marais and G.Marcy (Dec 2010)
NEWVISION400: Beijing, Great Hall of the People: “The Search for Earths and Life in the Universe” (12 Oct 2008)
John Bahcall Lecturer (Hubble Space Telescope Inst. & Goddard S.F.C.), National Air and Space Museum: “New Worlds, Yellowstone, and Life in the Universe” (11 Dec 2007)
“NASA Astrobiology Institute” Getting to the Core of Exoplanets: From Gas Giants to Ice Giants (3 Dec 2007)
George Gamow Lecture (at Univ. Colorado) (6 April 2006)
Niels Bohr Lecture (at the N. B. Institute) (8 Dec 2005)
Sackler Lecturer, Universiteit Leiden (Dec 2001)
National Science Foundation Distinguished Lecturer (23 Oct 2000)
G.Darwin Lecture, Royal Astronomical Society (14 Jan 2000)
Invited Lecture and Exhibit, Centennial Meeting of American Physical Society (1999)
Bunyan Lecturer, Physics Department, Stanford University (1997)

Promoting Women in Science

Member of “Men Against Rape” Santa Cruz 1977-1982
Forced Lick Observatory to remove degrading pornography (1980)
Worked with Vera Rubin to promote a welcoming environment for women at Carnegie Science (1983)
Member, Organization for Women at Caltech (1982-1984)
Elected Member, “Committee on the Status of Women in Astronomy” of the American Astronomical Society (1990 – 1993)
Attended “Take Back the Night” meetings and marches in Berkeley (1999-2015)
Mentored Masters and Ph.D. dissertations for 9 female students (e.g. Drs. L.Weiss, D.Fischer, K.Peek)
Financial Support of San Francisco Women Against Rape, 1985 – present.

Management: Service to Science Community

University of California Observatories Board, serving U.C. Office of the President
JPL Advisory Board to the Director
Office of Science Technology of the U.S., Astronomy & Astrophysics Advisory Committee, 2012-2015
Office of Science Technology of the U.S., Astronomy & Astrophysics Advisory Committee, 2012-2015
Chair, University of California Astrophysics Task Force, 2011-2012
Member, Keck Observatory Science Steering Committee, 2010-2013
Director of Center for Integrative Planetary Science 2000-2012
Editor, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 2008-2012
Member, University of California Observatories Advisory Committee, 2005-2012
Board of Councilors, American Astronomical Society, 1998-2000
Board of Directors, Astronomical Society of the Pacific, 1997-99
NASA Working Group: Origins of Solar Systems 1998-2000
NASA Working Group: Terrestrial Planet Finder 1998-2001
Committee on the Status of Women in Astronomy (AAS) 1994-1997
Publications Board, Publications of the Astronomical Society of the Pacific, 1997-2002

Past Positions

Professor of Astronomy, University of California, Berkeley, 1999-2015
Watson & Marilyn Alberts Chair in the Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence, 2012-2015.
Distinguished University Professor, San Francisco State University, 1997-1999.
Professor of Physics and Astronomy, San Francisco State University, 1984-1996.
Carnegie Fellow, Carnegie Institution of Washington, 1982-1984.

Selection of Courses Taught

Observational Techniques, Optical Lab: Astro 120 (UC Berkeley)
Introduction to Astrophysics: Astro 7A & 7B (UC Berkeley)
The Planets: Astro 12 (UC Berkeley)
Stellar Astrophysics: Astro 160 (UC Berkeley)
Electricity and Magnetism: Physics 241 (SFSU)
Statistical Mechanics and Thermodynamics (SFSU)
Laboratory Astrophysics (SFSU)
Laboratory for Electricity and Magnetism (SFSU)
Established Computerized Telescope and CCD Detector System, Instructional

Educational Scientific Outreach

ABC Nightline with Ted Koppel, Oct. 20, 1995
Spiegel TV (Germany) Oct. 29 1995
The McNeil-Lehrer News Hour, Jan. 18, 1996
CBS Nightly News, Jan. 18, 1996
The NBC Today Show (Bryant Gumbel) Jan. 19, 1996
TIME Magazine, Cover Story, Feb. 5, 1996
BBC “Horizons” (one-hour episode) March 11, 1996
California State Senate Certificate of Recognition, 1996, May 1
Washington Post Front Page: “Hunting New Worlds Far Afield”, Dec 25, 1996
BBC Television: “The Science of Star Trek”
NY Times Front Page: “In a Golden Age of Discovery, Faraway Worlds Beckon”, Feb.9, 1997
PBS NOVA: “Alien Worlds” (one-hour episode) aired Feb 18, 1997
The Learning Channel: “Alien Encounter” (one-hour episode) March, 1997
NEWSWEEK: 100 Americans for the Next Century, April 21, 1997
PBS: Mysteries of Deep Space: The Search for Other World”‘ (one-hour episode) April, 1997
Carl K. Seyfert Lecture in Astronomy address presented at A.J.Dyer Observatory, Vanderbilt University, Sept. 25, 1997
Commonwealth Club. “First Reconnaissance of Planetary System” address presented at the Sept. 11, 1997
The Explorers Club, “Confocal Cusp of Explorer”‘ address presented to Northern California Chapter, 18 Oct 1997
Karlis Kaufmanis Lecture” University of Minnesota, Oct. 23, 1997
Encyclopedia Encarta: “The Discovery of Extrasolar Planets” 1998
“The Diversity of Planetary Systems”, Sky & Telescope, March 1998, vol. 95, #3, cover story (with R.Paul Butler)
Scientific American,“Giant Planets Orbiting Faraway Stars”, March, 1998.
NY Times Front Page: “A New Planet Discovered..”‘ June 26, 1998.
NY Times: “In New Discoveries, A Planetary Mystery”, January 10, 1999
CNN News, Newstand CNN-TIME, Jan 10, 1999
Sky and Telescope Article, pg 22, Feb 1999
NY Times: Front Page Science Times: “Search for New Planets Yields Confusion”, March 2, 1999
NY Times: Front Page :”At Long Last: Another Sun with a Family of Planets”, April 16, 1999
Ruth Northcott Lecturer for the Royal Astronomical Society of Canada, July 3, 1999, Toronto
National Geographic “The Universe at the End of the 20th Century” Oct. 1999
“Extrasolar Planets”, Astronomy Magazine, March 2000, vol. 28, #3, cover story (with R.Paul Butler)
Guest on the “Late Show with David Letterman” 12 April 2001
2001-2014 Dozens of Documentaries, BBC, NOVA, Science Channel, National Geographic, Discovery Channel.

G.Marcy: Publications and Citations of Research Papers