The Center for Astrophysics | Harvard & Smithsonian
The Center for Astrophysics | Harvard & Smithsonian
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Garret Fitzpatrick

Center for Astrophysics
Principal Investigator and Project Engineer
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Garret Fitzpatrick
garret.fitzpatrick@cfa.harvard.edu

About

Garret Fitzpatrick is a Principal Investigator and Project Engineer at the Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory, where he leads engineering teams to develop systems and instrumentation to help us better understand the Universe. He leads the engineering development of the next generation Event Horizon Telescope (ngEHT) program, which will add new radio telescope sites and capabilities to the Earth-sized array that produced the first image of a black hole in 2019. Garret is also the PI for the Lunar Biorepository, a concept to create a backup of Earth's life on the moon. Previously, Garret served as a systems engineer at the NASA Ames Research Center, where he led the engineering development of a cell biology payload for the International Space Station. Prior to that, he supported fifteen Space Shuttle flights as a crew survival system hardware manager at the NASA Johnson Space Center. Garret has also spent time in industry, leading a product development division for Shell TechWorks, an innovation center focused on bringing in outside expertise to solve Shell's toughest technical challenges. Garret is a science and travel writer and a regular panelist and invited speaker on systems engineering, systems thinking, and innovation. 

B.S. Engineering Mechanics and Astronautics -- University of Wisconsin-Madison
M.S. Science Writing -- MIT

Telescopes and Instruments

South Pole Telescope, Antarctica

The South Pole Telescope (SPT) is a submillimeter observatory in Antarctica that performs measurements of the cosmic microwave background (CMB) and the dark energy driving the acceleration of the expansion of the universe. The observatory is also part of the Event Horizon Telescope (EHT), a globe-spanning multi-telescope project that captured the first image of a black hole at the center of a nearby galaxy. The SPT project is a collaboration between the University of Chicago, the University of California at Berkeley, Case Western Reserve University, the University of Illinois, and the Center for Astrophysics | Harvard & Smithsonian.

Visit the South Pole Telescope, Antarctica Website
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Event Horizon Telescope (EHT)

Black holes are found in the centers of most galaxies, where they can influence star formation and the distribution of atoms in the environment surrounding them. However, direct observation of a black hole is difficult because it is so small relative to their masses. Founded by Shep Doeleman at the Center for Astrophysics | Harvard & Smithsonian, the Event Horizon Telescope (EHT) captured the first image ever taken of a black hole: specifically, the ring of light produced by matter just as it falls into the black hole at the center of the nearby galaxy M87. The EHT is a virtual observatory consisting of telescopes spanning the planet, from Greenland to the South Pole. The international collaboration operating the EHT includes observatories affiliated with the Center for Astrophysics: the CfA’s Submillimeter Array (SMA) and the Greenland Telescope.

Visit the EHT Website
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The Greenland Telescope

The polar regions are challenging environments for humans, but worthwhile for astronomy with their long nights and often-clear skies. The Greenland Telescope is the latest telescope to be placed in the Arctic, as part of the Event Horizon Telescope (EHT) project to capture the first images of black holes. The telescope operates in the region of the spectrum where infrared and radio light meet, which is ideal for looking into the dense central region of the Milky Way, where our galaxy’s supermassive black hole resides. The Greenland Telescope is jointly operated by the Center for Astrophysics | Harvard & Smithsonian and the Academia Sinica Institute of Astronomy & Astrophysics (ASIAA) of Taiwan.

Visit the Greenland Telescope Website
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