Tim de Zeeuw Receives Honorary Degree

On 24 November 2014, ESO’s Director General Tim de Zeeuw [1] received an honorary degree in astronomy at a ceremony in the Aula Magna of the University of Padova in Italy. During the event he gave a presentation with the title “Exploring the Universe”.

Tim de Zeeuw is an expert in the formation, structure and dynamics of galaxies including the Milky Way.

With this distinction, Tim de Zeeuw joins a line of outstanding astronomers, including former ESO Director General Riccardo Giacconi, who laid the foundations for X-ray astronomy, Ivan King, a world authority on globular star clusters, and Bruno Rossi, who made major contributions to the study of cosmic rays.

Notes

[1] Tim de Zeeuw completed his PhD at Leiden University in 1984 and became a Professor of Theoretical Astronomy at the university in 1990. He is the founder of the Netherlands Research School for Astronomy (NOVA) and has been responsible for many significant achievements in the Netherlands and beyond. He has been Director General of ESO since September 2007.

Tim de Zeeuw is an honorary fellow of the Royal Astronomical Society and has received several previous awards, including the Brouwer Award from the American Astronomical Society and honorary degrees from the University of Lyon and the University of Chicago.

Courtesy of European Southern Observatory