Donald E. Osterbrock
University of California, Santa Cruz
July 13, 1924 - January 11, 2007
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Scientific Discipline: Astronomy Membership Type:
Member
(elected 1966)
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Donald Osterbrock’s research involved both theory and observation. After initially making contributions to the understanding of the Milky Way and stellar structure, he did major work on emission-line nebulae, on active galactic nuclei, and on the history of astronomy. He was also known as an excellent teacher, with many of his doctoral students going on to distinguished careers in astronomy.
Osterbrock received a bachelor’s degree in physics in 1948 and his Ph.D. in astronomy in 1952 from the University of Chicago. He was awarded a postdoctoral fellowship at Princeton University, where his work entailed observational galactic structure, galactic orbits and dynamics, red dwarf structure, convective envelopes, globular clusters, and the heating of the solar corona. But it was at Caltech, whose astronomy faculty he joined in 1953, where he began a new kind of work—in the fields of emission-line nuclei and active galaxies—that would define the central theme of his research career. In 1958 Osterbrock moved to the University of Wisconsin in Madison, where he helped to establish a graduate program in astronomy and continued his research. He also published the first edition of what became a widely used graduate-level book, Astrophysics of Gaseous Nebulae.
In 1973 Osterbrock became director of the Lick Observatory, headquartered at the University California, Santa Cruz, where he served until 1981. A major interest in his later years was the history of astronomy; his resume lists 79 historical publications, including five well-received books. Osterbrock’s highly readable historical writings were characterized by a professional astronomer’s understanding of the scientific issues together with insights into the personalities and institutional issues at play.
Although Osterbrock served in numerous distinguished posts (including as president of the American Astronomical Society) and won many of the top awards given to astronomers, those who worked with him appreciated his style of simplicity and directness, possibly rooted in his Midwestern (Cincinnati, Ohio) upbringing.
Photo courtesy Don Harris, UCSC Photo Services
