Leo Goldberg
Encyclopedia
Leo Goldberg was an American astronomer who held professorships at Harvard and the University of Michigan
and the directorships of several major observatories. He was president of both the International Astronomical Union
and the American Astronomical Society
. His research focused on solar physics
and the application of atomic physics
to astronomy, and he led many of the early efforts to study the Sun from space telescopes.
section of New York City
to immigrant parents from eastern Poland
(then part of the Russian Empire
). He lived in a tenement
building in Brooklyn with his parents and two brothers, one two years older and the other some eight years younger, until it was destroyed by a fire in 1922. The fire killed his mother and infant brother, and hospitalized the nine year-old Leo and his older brother. Goldberg was in hospital for some months and his brother for over a year. In 1924 Goldberg's father remarried, and a year later the family moved to New Bedford, Massachusetts
. His father, a milliner, set up a store there and Goldberg worked there on his evenings and weekends during his high school
years.
Goldberg was encouraged by career guidance councilors at the school to pursue a career in engineering, since he did well in science and math classes. He originally decided to apply to MIT, but since this would have put him and his brother—who had been placed in the same year as him because of his extended hospital stay—in competition for a single scholarship he decided to withdraw and work in his father's store for another year.
In 1930 he enrolled in the Harvard Engineering School on a tuition scholarship from the New Bedford Harvard Club. While there he took an introductory astronomy course, and decided to change his major
to astronomy at the start of his fourth year.
in astronomy in 1938, also from Harvard. He remained there for three years after graduating on a special research fellowship, before being appointed to the staff of the McMath-Hulbert Observatory
in Lake Angelus, Michigan
in 1941. While there he worked on an anti-submarine project during World War II
.
In 1946 he was given the job of department chairman and observatory director at Michigan, where he began filling gaps left by a series of recent retirements, deaths, and resignations. He procured several new telescopes for the university, including an 85-foot radio dish to exploit the new and growing field of radio astronomy
. He also began espousing the possibilities of space-based observations of astronomical objects and particularly the Sun, but received little support in this idea—which would have necessitated significant investment in infrastructure—from the university administration.
He remained at Michigan until 1960, when he returned to Harvard to take up a professorship. Six years later he was made chair of Harvard's astronomy department and directory of its observatory.
and spectroscopy
. Much of his work was carried out using observations from satellites, including the fourth and sixth Orbiting Solar Observatories
and the space station Skylab
.
, and despite the ongoing Cold War
the Russians had allowed delegates from all member countries to attend. The Americans wished to host the next meeting, in 1961, on the same terms. This would require clearing the offer with the State Department
under Secretary
John Foster Dulles
, and in particular his science adviser Wallace Brode. Brode, a strong anti-Communist, objected to the fact that the Communist People's Republic of China
was a member of the IAU while the democratic Republic of China
was not. He wanted Goldberg to present the U.S.'s invitation at the 1958 meeting, but with the condition that the ROC would be admitted immediately.
Goldberg refused this demand on the grounds that the ROC—which at the time had no practicing research astronomers—would have to apply and be considered in the usual way. He also objected to the idea that the invitation to the 1961 meeting should be contingent on the ROC's acceptance. He offered to resign his position as delegate, but the National Academy of Sciences
gave him their support and the ROC's application was allowed to proceed normally. The country was admitted in 1959 and the 11th assembly went ahead as planned, with Goldberg chairing the U.S. delegation.
Goldberg was elected one of the six Vice-Presidents of the IAU in 1958 and served two consecutive three-year terms, ending in 1964. In 1973 he became President, and served for three years.
University of Michigan
The University of Michigan is a public research university located in Ann Arbor, Michigan in the United States. It is the state's oldest university and the flagship campus of the University of Michigan...
and the directorships of several major observatories. He was president of both the International Astronomical Union
International Astronomical Union
The International Astronomical Union IAU is a collection of professional astronomers, at the Ph.D. level and beyond, active in professional research and education in astronomy...
and the American Astronomical Society
American Astronomical Society
The American Astronomical Society is an American society of professional astronomers and other interested individuals, headquartered in Washington, DC...
. His research focused on solar physics
Solar physics
For the physics journal, see Solar Physics Solar physics is the study of our Sun. It is a branch of astrophysics that specializes in exploiting and explaining the detailed measurements that are possible only for our closest star...
and the application of atomic physics
Atomic physics
Atomic physics is the field of physics that studies atoms as an isolated system of electrons and an atomic nucleus. It is primarily concerned with the arrangement of electrons around the nucleus and...
to astronomy, and he led many of the early efforts to study the Sun from space telescopes.
Early life
Goldberg was born in the BrooklynBrooklyn
Brooklyn is the most populous of New York City's five boroughs, with nearly 2.6 million residents, and the second-largest in area. Since 1896, Brooklyn has had the same boundaries as Kings County, which is now the most populous county in New York State and the second-most densely populated...
section of New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
to immigrant parents from eastern Poland
Poland
Poland , officially the Republic of Poland , is a country in Central Europe bordered by Germany to the west; the Czech Republic and Slovakia to the south; Ukraine, Belarus and Lithuania to the east; and the Baltic Sea and Kaliningrad Oblast, a Russian exclave, to the north...
(then part of the Russian Empire
Russian Empire
The Russian Empire was a state that existed from 1721 until the Russian Revolution of 1917. It was the successor to the Tsardom of Russia and the predecessor of the Soviet Union...
). He lived in a tenement
Tenement
A tenement is, in most English-speaking areas, a substandard multi-family dwelling, usually old, occupied by the poor.-History:Originally the term tenement referred to tenancy and therefore to any rented accommodation...
building in Brooklyn with his parents and two brothers, one two years older and the other some eight years younger, until it was destroyed by a fire in 1922. The fire killed his mother and infant brother, and hospitalized the nine year-old Leo and his older brother. Goldberg was in hospital for some months and his brother for over a year. In 1924 Goldberg's father remarried, and a year later the family moved to New Bedford, Massachusetts
New Bedford, Massachusetts
New Bedford is a city in Bristol County, Massachusetts, United States, located south of Boston, southeast of Providence, Rhode Island, and about east of Fall River. As of the 2010 census, the city had a total population of 95,072, making it the sixth-largest city in Massachusetts...
. His father, a milliner, set up a store there and Goldberg worked there on his evenings and weekends during his high school
High school
High school is a term used in parts of the English speaking world to describe institutions which provide all or part of secondary education. The term is often incorporated into the name of such institutions....
years.
Goldberg was encouraged by career guidance councilors at the school to pursue a career in engineering, since he did well in science and math classes. He originally decided to apply to MIT, but since this would have put him and his brother—who had been placed in the same year as him because of his extended hospital stay—in competition for a single scholarship he decided to withdraw and work in his father's store for another year.
In 1930 he enrolled in the Harvard Engineering School on a tuition scholarship from the New Bedford Harvard Club. While there he took an introductory astronomy course, and decided to change his major
Academic major
In the United States and Canada, an academic major or major concentration is the academic discipline to which an undergraduate student formally commits....
to astronomy at the start of his fourth year.
Academic career
Goldberg received his PhDPHD
PHD may refer to:*Ph.D., a doctorate of philosophy*Ph.D. , a 1980s British group*PHD finger, a protein sequence*PHD Mountain Software, an outdoor clothing and equipment company*PhD Docbook renderer, an XML renderer...
in astronomy in 1938, also from Harvard. He remained there for three years after graduating on a special research fellowship, before being appointed to the staff of the McMath-Hulbert Observatory
McMath-Hulbert Observatory
The McMath-Hulbert Solar Observatory is a decommissioned solar observatory in Lake Angelus, Michigan, USA. It was established in 1929 as a private observatory by father and son Francis Charles McMath and Robert Raynolds McMath and their friend, Judge Henry Hulbert...
in Lake Angelus, Michigan
Lake Angelus, Michigan
Lake Angelus is a city in North Oakland County in the U.S. state of Michigan. As of the 2010 census, the city population was 290, making it Michigan's smallest incorporated city.-Geography:...
in 1941. While there he worked on an anti-submarine project during World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
.
In 1946 he was given the job of department chairman and observatory director at Michigan, where he began filling gaps left by a series of recent retirements, deaths, and resignations. He procured several new telescopes for the university, including an 85-foot radio dish to exploit the new and growing field of radio astronomy
Radio astronomy
Radio astronomy is a subfield of astronomy that studies celestial objects at radio frequencies. The initial detection of radio waves from an astronomical object was made in the 1930s, when Karl Jansky observed radiation coming from the Milky Way. Subsequent observations have identified a number of...
. He also began espousing the possibilities of space-based observations of astronomical objects and particularly the Sun, but received little support in this idea—which would have necessitated significant investment in infrastructure—from the university administration.
He remained at Michigan until 1960, when he returned to Harvard to take up a professorship. Six years later he was made chair of Harvard's astronomy department and directory of its observatory.
Research
Goldberg worked extensively in the fields of Solar physicsSolar physics
For the physics journal, see Solar Physics Solar physics is the study of our Sun. It is a branch of astrophysics that specializes in exploiting and explaining the detailed measurements that are possible only for our closest star...
and spectroscopy
Spectroscopy
Spectroscopy is the study of the interaction between matter and radiated energy. Historically, spectroscopy originated through the study of visible light dispersed according to its wavelength, e.g., by a prism. Later the concept was expanded greatly to comprise any interaction with radiative...
. Much of his work was carried out using observations from satellites, including the fourth and sixth Orbiting Solar Observatories
Orbiting Solar Observatory
The Orbiting Solar Observatory Program was the name of a series of nine American science satellites primarily intended to study the Sun, though they also included important non-solar experiments. Eight were launched successfully by NASA between 1962 and 1975 using Delta rockets...
and the space station Skylab
Skylab
Skylab was a space station launched and operated by NASA, the space agency of the United States. Skylab orbited the Earth from 1973 to 1979, and included a workshop, a solar observatory, and other systems. It was launched unmanned by a modified Saturn V rocket, with a mass of...
.
International Astronomical Union
Goldberg began to play an active role in the IAU while at Michigan, acting as chair of the U.S. delegations to the 10th and 11th general assemblies in 1958 and 1961. The 1958 meeting was held in MoscowMoscow
Moscow is the capital, the most populous city, and the most populous federal subject of Russia. The city is a major political, economic, cultural, scientific, religious, financial, educational, and transportation centre of Russia and the continent...
, and despite the ongoing Cold War
Cold War
The Cold War was the continuing state from roughly 1946 to 1991 of political conflict, military tension, proxy wars, and economic competition between the Communist World—primarily the Soviet Union and its satellite states and allies—and the powers of the Western world, primarily the United States...
the Russians had allowed delegates from all member countries to attend. The Americans wished to host the next meeting, in 1961, on the same terms. This would require clearing the offer with the State Department
United States Department of State
The United States Department of State , is the United States federal executive department responsible for international relations of the United States, equivalent to the foreign ministries of other countries...
under Secretary
United States Secretary of State
The United States Secretary of State is the head of the United States Department of State, concerned with foreign affairs. The Secretary is a member of the Cabinet and the highest-ranking cabinet secretary both in line of succession and order of precedence...
John Foster Dulles
John Foster Dulles
John Foster Dulles served as U.S. Secretary of State under President Dwight D. Eisenhower from 1953 to 1959. He was a significant figure in the early Cold War era, advocating an aggressive stance against communism throughout the world...
, and in particular his science adviser Wallace Brode. Brode, a strong anti-Communist, objected to the fact that the Communist People's Republic of China
People's Republic of China
China , officially the People's Republic of China , is the most populous country in the world, with over 1.3 billion citizens. Located in East Asia, the country covers approximately 9.6 million square kilometres...
was a member of the IAU while the democratic Republic of China
Republic of China
The Republic of China , commonly known as Taiwan , is a unitary sovereign state located in East Asia. Originally based in mainland China, the Republic of China currently governs the island of Taiwan , which forms over 99% of its current territory, as well as Penghu, Kinmen, Matsu and other minor...
was not. He wanted Goldberg to present the U.S.'s invitation at the 1958 meeting, but with the condition that the ROC would be admitted immediately.
Goldberg refused this demand on the grounds that the ROC—which at the time had no practicing research astronomers—would have to apply and be considered in the usual way. He also objected to the idea that the invitation to the 1961 meeting should be contingent on the ROC's acceptance. He offered to resign his position as delegate, but the National Academy of Sciences
United States National Academy of Sciences
The National Academy of Sciences is a corporation in the United States whose members serve pro bono as "advisers to the nation on science, engineering, and medicine." As a national academy, new members of the organization are elected annually by current members, based on their distinguished and...
gave him their support and the ROC's application was allowed to proceed normally. The country was admitted in 1959 and the 11th assembly went ahead as planned, with Goldberg chairing the U.S. delegation.
Goldberg was elected one of the six Vice-Presidents of the IAU in 1958 and served two consecutive three-year terms, ending in 1964. In 1973 he became President, and served for three years.
Honors
- NASANASAThe National Aeronautics and Space Administration is the agency of the United States government that is responsible for the nation's civilian space program and for aeronautics and aerospace research...
Distinguished Service MedalNASA Distinguished Service MedalThe NASA Distinguished Service Medal is the highest award which may be bestowed by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration of the United States...
, 1973 - American Astronomical SocietyAmerican Astronomical SocietyThe American Astronomical Society is an American society of professional astronomers and other interested individuals, headquartered in Washington, DC...
's George Ellery Hale PrizeGeorge Ellery Hale PrizeThe George Ellery Hale Prize, or Hale Prize, is awarded annually by the Solar Physics Division of the American Astronomical Society for outstanding contributions over an extended period of time to the field of solar astronomy. The prize is named in memory of George Ellery Hale.Past winners of the...
, 1984 - Honorary degreeHonorary degreeAn honorary degree or a degree honoris causa is an academic degree for which a university has waived the usual requirements, such as matriculation, residence, study, and the passing of examinations...
s from the University of Massachusetts (1970), University of Michigan (1974), and University of Arizona (1977). - In 2006 the National Optical Astronomy ObservatoryNational Optical Astronomy ObservatoryThe National Optical Astronomy Observatory is the United States national observatory for ground based nighttime ultraviolet-optical-infrared astronomy. The National Science Foundation funds NOAO to provide forefront astronomical research facilities for US astronomers...
renamed its NOAO Five Year Post-Doctoral Fellowship after Goldberg.