Harlan James Smith 4827942 208770737 2008-04-28T15:41:45Z Respice 397128 A big chunk of the text had been moved down into the external links. Fumble-fingers while editing? Moved it back to where it belonged. '''Harlan James Smith''' (August 25, 1924–October 17, 1991) was an [[United States|American]] [[astronomer]]. He was born in [[Wheeling, West Virginia]], the son of Paul and Anna McGregor Smith. While attending [[Wheeling High School]] he was named first runner up in the "Westinghouse National Science Talent Search". From 1943 until the end of [[World War II]] he served in the [[U.S. Army Air Corps]], performing weather observation. Following the war he attended [[Harvard University]], earning a [[B.A.]] in 1949. In 1950 he married Joan Greene, and by 1951 had earned his [[M.S.]] degree from Harvard. He began teaching at the astronomy department at [[Yale University]] in 1953, but still completed his [[Ph.D.]] from Harvard by 1955. In 1963 he was named chair of the [[University of Texas]] astronomy department where he also became the director of the [[McDonald Observatory]]. At the observatory he oversaw the construction of the 2.7m telescope he had persuaded [[NASA]] to build in support of planetary missions. From 1966 until 1970 he was a member of the ''Committee on the Large Space Telescope'', an ''ad hoc'' group formed by the [[United States National Academy of Sciences|National Academy of Sciences]], the work of which resulted in the [[Hubble Space Telescope]]. He also was the chairperson of the NASA Space Science Board from 1977 until 1980, and there helped propose NASA's [[Great Observatories program]]. He retired in 1989.During his career he studied [[variable star]]s, the radio emission from planets, as well as [[Photometry (astronomy)|photometry]] and astronomical instruments. With [[Dorrit Hoffleit]], he was the first to observe the optical variability of [[quasar]]s, and discovered a class of [[variable star]]s known as [[Delta Scuti variable]]s. He was an enthusiastic proponent of educating the public on astronomy, and developed the radio program "Star Date". He also developed "The Story of the Universe", a series of educational films. He was also a proponent of international cooperation, particularly with [[China]] which he visited several times. He served as co-editor of the ''[[Astronomical Journal]]'' as well as acting secretary for the [[American Astronomical Society]]. Smith died due to complications related to [[cancer]]. He was survived by his wife and four children, along with their grandchildren. ==Awards and honors== * NASA Distinguished Public Service Medal, 1991. * A professorship in astronomy at the University of Texas is named after him. * [[Asteroid]] [[3842 Harlansmith]] is named after him. * [[Harlan (crater)|Harlan crater]] on the [[Moon]] is named after him. ==External links== * [http://quasar.as.utexas.edu/BillInfo/HJSmithObits.html Harlan James Smith, 1924-1991] * [http://wheeling.weirton.lib.wv.us/people/hallfame/1998smit.htm Wheeling Hall of Fame] * [http://adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/1992BAAS...24.1332D Obituary: Harlan J. Smith, 1924-1991], by James Nathaniel Douglas. {{DEFAULTSORT:Smith, Harlan James}} [[Category:1924 births]] [[Category:1991 deaths]] [[Category:American astronomers]] [[pl:Harlan Smith]]