The Center for Astrophysics | Harvard & Smithsonian
The Center for Astrophysics | Harvard & Smithsonian
Support Our Science

Giovanni G. Fazio

Center for Astrophysics
Share this Page
Research Topics
Science Fields
Divisions
My Workspace
Giovanni G. Fazio
gfazio@cfa.harvard.edu

About

Dr. Fazio is presently Senior Physicist, Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics; Lecturer, Astronomy Department, Harvard University; and Faculty Emeritus, International Space University, Strasbourg, France. He received BS (Physics) and BA (Chemistry) degrees from St. Mary's University, Texas, in 1954, and a Ph.D. (Physics) from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) in 1959, having done his graduate work in elementary particle physics. The same year, he joined the Physics Department, University of Rochester, where he pioneered the development of gamma-ray astronomy using balloon-borne telescopes and was the Co-Principal Investigator for the gamma-ray telescope experiment on NASA’s first Orbiting Solar Observatory (OSO-1; 1962). In 1962 he joined the Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory and the Harvard College Observatory, where he initiated a program in gamma-ray astronomy using balloon-borne and ground-based telescopes He initiated the construction of the 10-meter optical reflector at the F. L. Whipple Observatory, Arizona, to search for ultrahigh-energy cosmic gamma-rays. In the early 1970's he pioneered the development of large balloonborne telescopes for far-infrared astronomical observations above the atmosphere, and for twenty years was Principal Investigator for the 1-Meter Balloon-Borne Far-Infrared Telescope. He was also the Principal Investigator for the first infrared astronomical telescope to fly on the Spacelab II flight of the Space Shuttle (1985). In 1984 he was selected as Principal Investigator for the Infrared Array Camera (IRAC) experiment on the Spitzer Space Telescope, one of NASA's Great Observatories. The Spitzer Space Telescope was launched in August 2003 and terminated in January 2020. Dr. Fazio was also a Co-Investigator on the Submillimeter Wave Astronomical Satellite (SWAS; 1998). His current research interests include the development of infrared instrumentation and the use of infrared array cameras on ground-based and space telescopes to observe galaxy formation and evolution in the early Universe, black holes, ultraluminous galaxies, star formation and evolution, brown dwarfs, and asteroids.

St. Mary's University (Texas), B.S., Physics (1954); Summa Cum Laude St. Mary's University (Texas), B.A., Chemistry (1954); Summa Cum Laude Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Ph.D., Physics (1959)

Telescopes and Instruments

Magellan Telescopes

The twin Magellan Telescopes in Chile are each 6.5 meter optical telescopes. These telescopes are both equipped with instruments to take images and spectra of light from a wide variety of astronomical sources, including exoplanet systems, star-forming regions, supernova remnants, and interacting galaxies. The Magellan Telescopes — named Baade and Clay —  are hosted at the Las Campanas Observatory and are operated by a consortium of institutions, including the Center for Astrophysics | Harvard & Smithsonian, Carnegie Institution for Science, University of Arizona, the University of Michigan, and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. In addition, CfA scientists and engineers provided a wide field f/5 focal system (including secondary mirror and corrective optics), and a powerful astronomical camera for use at the Clay telescope.

Visit the Magellan Telescopes Website
1

Giant Magellan Telescope

Is Earth unique, or are there other planets with life in the Milky Way? To answer this question and many others, astronomers need larger and more sensitive observatories than anything we currently have. For that reason, the Center for Astrophysics | Harvard & Smithsonian is collaborating with a number of other institutions around the world to create the Giant Magellan Telescope (GMT), currently under construction in Chile. The GMT will consist of seven large mirrors acting in concert as one giant telescope 80 feet across. That large size provides an unprecedented view of the sky and the ability to detect the chemical composition of exoplanet atmospheres. Like NASA’s Hubble Space Telescope, the GMT will be a powerful tool across the field of astronomy, providing insights into the formation of planets, the structure of galaxies, and the evolution of the universe itself.

Visit the GMT Website
2

Chandra

The Chandra X-ray Observatory is NASA’s flagship X-ray observatory, providing essential data on everything from the environment surrounding newborn stars to the emissions from hot plasma inside galaxy clusters. The Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory (SAO), as part of the Center for Astrophysics | Harvard & Smithsonian, manages Chandra’s day-to-day operations, providing spacecraft control, observation planning, and data processing for astronomers. Chandra is one of NASA’s orbiting Great Observatories, along with the Hubble.

Visit the Chandra Website
3

Spitzer Space Telescope

Infrared light is the key to studying a wide range of astronomical systems, including newborn stars and planets, dust in distant galaxies, and material swirling around black holes. The Spitzer Space Telescope was NASA’s orbiting infrared observatory, and part of NASA’s Great Observatories program, along with the Chandra X-ray Observatory and the Hubble Space Telescope. Scientists and engineers at the Center for Astrophysics | Harvard & Smithsonian led the design, testing, and construction of the Infrared Array Camera (IRAC). The Spitzer Space Telescope was launched in 2003 and retired in 2020.

Visit the Spitzer Space Telescope IRAC Page
4

SPHEREx

Clues about the origin of the universe and of life are scattered across the sky. SPHEREx (Spectro-Photometer for the History of the Universe, Epoch of Reionization, and Ices Explorer) is a NASA medium-class Explorer (MIDEx) designed to measure optical-to-infrared spectra of hundreds of millions of galaxies and millions of Milky Way stars. With its unprecedented galaxy catalog, SPHEREx will answer pressing questions about the history and origin of the universe. Its unique catalog of Milky Way stellar spectra will reveal the abundances of water and other molecules associated with life in the Milky Way in unprecedented detail. Researchers from the Center for Astrophysics | Harvard & Smithsonian, including Gary Melnick, Matthew Ashby, Joseph Hora, and Volker Tolls, are involved in the SPHEREx investigation seeking to understand the distribution of these molecules throughout the Galaxy so as to better answer complex questions about their origins. SPHEREx is scheduled for launch from Vandenburg AFB no earlier than February 2025.Visit the SPHEREx Website
5

Submillimeter Wave Astronomy Satellite

NASA’s Submillimeter Wave Astronomy Satellite (SWAS) was a space observatory built to look for water and other molecules associated with life as we know it. During its seven years of operation, SWAS provided the first measure of the distribution of water in the Milky Way. Astronomers also used the observatory to make important discoveries about the interstellar clouds where new stars and planets are born, as well as observations of planets and comets within the Solar System. Center for Astrophysics | Harvard & Smithsonian scientists and engineers designed the telescope for SWAS, and the CfA hosted the operations center for the spacecraft. SWAS operated from 1998 through 2005, when it was put into hibernation mode.

Visit the SWAS Website
6

The Submillimeter Array - Maunakea, HI

Located near the summit of Maunakea on the Big Island of Hawaii, the Submillimeter Array (SMA) is one of the flagship observatories of the Center for Astrophysics | Harvard & Smithsonian. The observatory consists of eight radio dishes working together as one telescope, giving astronomers a window on a wide range of astronomical objects and phenomena: planets and comets in our own Solar System; the birth of stars and planets; and the supermassive black holes hidden at the centers of the Milky Way and other galaxies. The SMA is operated jointly by the CfA and the Academia Sinica in Taiwan.

Visit the Submillimeter Array Website
7