Brief Bio
Neil Gehrels is an experimental physicist working in gamma-ray astronomy who is active in instrument development and data analysis, and dabbles in theory. His interests include gamma-ray bursts and supernovae. He is Principal Investigator for the Swift gamma-ray burst MIDEX mission. Other responsibilities include Project Scientist for the Compton Observatory (1991-2000), Mission Scientist for INTEGRAL, a Deputy Project Scientist for Fermi, Project Scientist for WFIRST and member LIGO Science Collaboration. Committees, societies, etc. include past Chair of the AAS High Energy Astrophysics Division and the APS Division of Astrophysics, Fellow of the APS, and member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences and National Academy of Sciences. His wife, Ellen Williams, is Chief Scientist at BP and is on leave as a Distinguished Professor of physics at the University of Maryland. He has two children, Tommy and Emily, born in 1987 and 1990. His other interests include music and moutaineering. He climbed the Nose Route on El Capitan in Yosemite in a 6 day solo ascent in 2006.
Present Position
Chief, Astroparticle Physics Laboratory, NASA/GSFC
College Park Professor of Astronomy, U. Maryland
Adjunct Professor of Astronomy & Astrophysics, Penn State
Research Areas
Gamma-Ray Astronomy
High Energy Astrophysics
Instrument Development
Education
1982 Ph.D., Physics, Caltech
1976 B.S., (Honors) Physics, University of Arizona
1976 B.M., Music, University of Arizona
Positions/Employment
Awards
2012, Alumnus of the Year, Honors College, University of Arizona
2012, Harrie Massey Award, COSPAR
2011, Rossi Prize, AAS, P. Michelson, W. Attwood & Fermi team
2011, election to International Academy of Astronautics
2010, election to National Academy of Sciences
2009, Maria & Eric Muhlmann Award, Astron Soc Pacific, Swift Team
2009, George W. Goddard Award, SPIE society
2009, Henry Draper Medal, National Academy of Sciences
2008, election to American Academy of Arts and Sciences
2007, Bruno Rossi Prize, American Astron Society, with Swift Team
2006, Popular Science, Best of What's New Award, Swift Team
2005, NASA Exceptional Scientific Achievement Medal
2005, GSFC John C. Lindsay Award
2000, Randolph Lovelace Award, American Astronautical Society
1993, Fellow, American Physical Society
1993, NASA Outstanding Leadership Medal
1992, Discover Magazine Award for Technological Innovation
1976, Caltech Graduate Fellowship
1975, Phi Beta Kappa
Lectureships
2012, Marker Lecture, Penn State U., Mar 21-22
2009, Marlar Lecture, Rice University, Apr 7-8
2009, George Darwin Lecture, Royal Astronomical Society, Oct 9
Projects
Project Scientist, WFIRST/JDEM, 2008 -
Deputy Project Scientist, Fermi, 2000 -
Mission Scientist, INTEGRAL, 1995 -
Project Scientist, CGRO, 1991 - 2001
Principal Investigator
Swift Gamma Ray Burst MIDEX 1998 -
CdZnTe Detector Development, NASA SR&T, 1992 - 1996, 1996 - 1999
Burst and All Sky Imaging Survey (BASIS), SMEX proposal, 1997
Co-Investigator
LIGO Scientific Collaboration
LAT instrument on Fermi
INFOCUS balloon payload
WIND Transient Gamma-Ray Spectrometer (TGRS)
Gamma Ray Imaging Spectrometer (GRIS)
Galileo Heavy Ion Counter (HIC)
Committees and Offices
Member, US National Committee of the IAU, 2012 -
Member, Committee on Astronomy and Public Policy, AAS, 2011 -
Chair, Commission E, COSPAR, 2006 - 2012
Chair, Division of Astrophysics, APS 2007-2008
Member, Science & Technology Committee, LANL & LLNL, 2010 -
Member, Max Planck (MPE) Science Board, 2006 -
Member, LIGO Program Advisory Committee, 2005 - 2009
Member, VERITAS External Scientific Advisory Com., 2005 -
Member, Los Alamos Sensors External Review Com., 2008
Member, Naval Research Lab Focus Area Review Com., 2008
External Scientific Advisor, CESR Scientific Council, 2003
Member, CEA DAPNIA Scientific Review Committee, 2001, 2004
Secretary/Treas., Division of Astrophysics, APS, 1998 - 2001
Member, NASA, Structure & Evolution of Universe, 1995 - 2001
Chair, High Energy Astrophysics Division, AAS, 1996 - 97
Co-Chair, Gamma Ray Astronomy Program Working Group, 1995 -
Secretary/Treas., High Energy Astrophysics Division, AAS, 1991 - 93
Member, NASA High Energy Astrophysics Management Operations Working Group, 1991 - 1994
Professional Society Memberships
American Astronomical Society
International Astronomical Union
American Physical Society
Astronomical Society of the Pacific
American Geophysical Union
Books
8. 2011 Gamma-Ray Bursts 2010, ed. J. E. McEnery, J. L. Racusin, and N. Gehrels, AIP Conf. Proc. 1358 (AIP, New York)
7. 2009 Gamma-Ray Bursts; 6th Huntsville Symposium, ed. C. Meegan, N. Gehrels, and C. Kouveliotou, AIP Conf Proc. 1133 (AIP, New York)
6. 2006 Gamma-Ray Bursts in the Swift Era, ed. S. S. Holt, N. Gehrels, and J. A. Nousek, AIP Conf. Proc. 836 (AIP, New York)
5. 2001 Gamma 2001, ed. S. M. Ritz, N. Gehrels and C. R. Shrader, AIP Conf. Proc. 587 (AIP, New York).
4. 1994 Second Compton Symposium, ed. C. E. Fichtel, N. Gehrels, and J. Norris, AIP Conf. Proc. 304 (AIP, New York).
3. 1993 Compton Gamma-Ray Observatory, ed. M. Friedlander, N. Gehrels and D. Macomb, AIP Conf. Proc. 280 (AIP, New York).
2. 1991 Compton Observatory Science Workshop, ed. C. R. Shrader, N. Gehrels and B. Dennis, NASA Conference Publication 3137.
1. 1988 Nuclear Spectroscopy of Astrophysical Sources, ed. N. Gehrels and G. H. Share, AIP Conf. Proc. 170 (AIP, New York).
Brief Bio
Neil Gehrels is an experimental physicist working in gamma-ray astronomy who is active in instrument development and data analysis, and dabbles in theory. His interests include gamma-ray bursts and supernovae. He is Principal Investigator for the Swift gamma-ray burst MIDEX mission. Other responsibilities include Project Scientist for the Compton Observatory (1991-2000), Mission Scientist for INTEGRAL, a Deputy Project Scientist for Fermi, Project Scientist for WFIRST and member LIGO Science Collaboration. Committees, societies, etc. include past Chair of the AAS High Energy Astrophysics Division and the APS Division of Astrophysics, Fellow of the APS, and member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences and National Academy of Sciences. His wife, Ellen Williams, is Chief Scientist at BP and is on leave as a Distinguished Professor of physics at the University of Maryland. He has two children, Tommy and Emily, born in 1987 and 1990. His other interests include music and moutaineering. He climbed the Nose Route on El Capitan in Yosemite in a 6 day solo ascent in 2006.
Present Position
Chief, Astroparticle Physics Laboratory, NASA/GSFC
College Park Professor of Astronomy, U. Maryland
Adjunct Professor of Astronomy & Astrophysics, Penn State
Research Areas
Gamma-Ray Astronomy
High Energy Astrophysics
Instrument Development
