Authors@Google: Taft Armandroff December 4, 2009

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Taft E. Armandroff is Director of the W. M. Keck Observatory. At the helm of operating one of the worlds leading astronomical research facilities, his priorities are to advance the scientific objectives of the Observatory, plan strategically with the broad astronomical community, and develop resources that will sustain Keck at the forefront of astronomy for decades to come.

A 1982 graduate of Wesleyan University, Armandroff holds a B.A. in astronomy with high honors. He continued his studies at Yale University, earning an M.S., M. Phil., and Ph.D. in astronomy. As primary author or co-author of 41 refereed journal articles and review papers, he is a widely respected research astronomer in dwarf spheroidal galaxies, stellar populations in the Milky Way galaxy and nearby galaxies, globular clusters, chemical evolution of galaxies, and dark matter.

Prior to joining Keck Observatory in 2006, he worked for 19 years at the National Optical Astronomy Observatory (NOAO) in Tucson, Arizona, holding positions of Associate Director and Director of the NOAO Gemini Science Center. In that capacity, he spearheaded U.S. contributions to and scientific use of the international twin Gemini telescopes in Hawaii and Chile.

A distinguished leader of many instrument development projects in wide-field optical imaging, multi-object spectroscopy and infrared spectroscopy, he is a passionate advocate for new technologies that will assist astronomers in their quest to understand our universe.

Dr. Taft Armandroff visits Google's Mountain View, CA headquarters as part of the Authors@Google series.