Robert Kraft (astronomer)

Robert Kraft
Born	June 16, 1927 Seattle, Washington, U.S.
Died	May 26, 2015 (aged 87) Santa Cruz, California
Nationality	United States
Alma mater	University of Washington, University of California at Berkeley
Doctoral advisor	George Herbig

Robert Paul "Bob" Kraft (June 16, 1927 – May 26, 2015) was an American astronomer.^[1] He performed pioneering work on Cepheid variables, stellar rotation, novae, and the chemical evolution of the Milky Way.

Career

Kraft served as director of the Lick Observatory (1981–1991), president of the American Astronomical Society (1974–1976), and president of the International Astronomical Union (1997–2000).^[2]

He received his B.S. at the University of Washington in 1947, M.S. in mathematics at the University of Washington in 1949, and PhD from the University of California, Berkeley.^[3] He died in 2015.^[4]

Honors

Awards

• Helen B. Warner Prize for Astronomy (1962)
• Henry Norris Russell Lectureship (1995)
• Bruce Medal (2005)^[5]
• National Academy of Sciences

Named after him

• Asteroid 3712 Kraft

References

1. "Biographical Encyclopedia of Scientists, Third Edition". google.ca.
2. "Robert P. Kraft, eminent astronomer and former director of UC Observatories, dies at age 87". UC Santa Cruz News.
3. "An Astronomical Life Salted by Pure Chance". Annual Review of Astronomy and Astrophysics. 2009. Bibcode:2009ARA&A..47....1K. doi:10.1146/annurev-astro-082708-101743.
4. "Robert P. Kraft, eminent astronomer and former director of UC Observatories, dies at age 87". UC Santa Cruz News. Retrieved 2 June 2015.
5. "The Bruce Medalists: Robert P. Kraft". Retrieved 2010-02-01.

Further reading

• Kraft, R. P. (2009). "An Astronomical Life Salted by Pure Chance". Annual Review of Astronomy and Astrophysics 47: 1–0. Bibcode:2009ARA&A..47....1K. doi:10.1146/annurev-astro-082708-101743.

External links