George K. Miley

George Kildare Miley (born 15 March 1942) is an Irish-Dutch astronomer. He holds a professorship at Leiden University, where he served as director of Leiden Observatory from 1996 to 2003.

Biography

After studying at Gonzaga College, Miley obtained his BSc in physics at University College Dublin in the years 1959–1963, and completed a PhD in radio astronomy at the University of Manchester in 1968. He was a research associate and assistant scientist at the National Radio Astronomy Observatory until 1970, when he moved to Leiden Observatory as a senior scientist.

He became astronomy professor at Leiden University in 1988, served as the observatory's scientific director 1996–2003, was appointed to a Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences Professorship 2003–2008. While Miley remained anchored in Leiden, he accepted several visiting posts: He was a visiting professor at Lick Observatory 1977–1978, and a visiting scientist for the infrared astronomy satellite IRAS at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory 1981–1982. From 1984 to 1988 he was senior astronomer and head of academic affairs at the Space Telescope Science Institute in Baltimore, as well as an adjunct professor at Johns Hopkins University. where his focus was on astronomy and development.

Research

In Manchester, Miley was active at Nuffield Radio Astronomy Laboratories in radio astronomy, where he was involved in developing long-baseline interferometry, a high-resolution technique that Miley used to study the properties of quasars. Miley continued this research during his stay at the National Radio Astronomy Observatory, establishing a relation between the size and distance of quasars.

Education and development

Miley is an active academic teacher, having supervised more than 25 PhD theses since 1978.

In 1973 Miley went on a lecture tour of China as the first astronomer to visit China after the Cultural Revolution. During his term as vice-president of the International Astronomical Union, Miley designed the IAU strategic plan "Astronomy for Development," whose main goal was to exploit astronomy for advancing the United Nations sustainable development goals.The strategic plan was adopted at the IAU General Assembly in Rio de Janeiro in August 2009. As part of the plan's implementation, the IAU established an Office of Astronomy for Development (OAD) at the South African Astronomical Observatory in Cape Town, South Africa, in 2011. For the creation and establishment of OAD, its director Kevin Govender and the IAU were jointly awarded the Edinburgh Medal in 2016.

Honors and awards Royal Shell Oeuvre Prize 1996 Leiden University Ceremonial “Dies Rede” Lecturer 1998 Membership, Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences 1998 - Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences Professor 2003 - 2010 The asteroid (6202) Georgemiley was named in his honour in 2003 Vice President International Astronomical Union 2006 – 2012 Advisor to IAU Executive Committee 2012 – 2015 Knighthood of the Order of the Netherlands Lion, 2012 Honorary Doctorate, Trinity College Dublin, 2017

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