Sixto González

Sixto A. González Edick (born 1965) was the Director of the Arecibo Observatory from September 29, 2003, to September 15, 2006. Arecibo Observatory was an astronomical observatory located in Puerto Rico. At the time of González's directorship Arecibo was the world's largest single dish radio telescope. González was the first Puerto Rican in the position of Director of the observatory.

Early years González was born in Bayamón, Puerto Rico. Lived his early years in Yabucoa, Puerto Rico. In 1983, he moved to Massachusetts. González returned to the island in 1985 and enrolled at the University of Puerto Rico at Humacao to study Applied Physics and Electronics, earning his Bachelor of Science degree in 1988. González completed his Ph.D. in 1994 at Utah State University.

In 2001, González was named assistant director for space and atmospheric sciences at the radar facility. On September 29, 2003, González became the first Puerto Rican to be named Director of the observatory.

In early June 2011 the National Science Foundation (NSF) announced that the cooperative agreement to manage, operate and maintain the Arecibo Observatory in Puerto Rico for the next five years (from 2011 to 2016) would be awarded to SRI International. Gonzalez retired as Director for Space and Atmospheric Sciences at the Arecibo Observatory that was part of SRI's Center for Geospace Studies.

Honors On October 30, 2003, González was honored by the United States House of Representatives when he was publicly congratulated.