Dr. Gregory Fahlman

Director General, NRC Herzberg Institute of Astrophysics

Dr. Gregory Fahlman was appointed Director General of the NRC Herzberg Institute of Astrophysics (NRC-HIA) on 1 February 2003, bringing to the position a well-established international track record as a scientific leader. He has served on numerous national committees and review panels, including the Board of Directors of the Canada-France-Hawaii Telescope (CFHT), a collaboration of NRC, the Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (France), and the University of Hawaii. From June 1999 until January 2003, Dr. Fahlman resided in Hawaii and served as CFHT's Executive Director.

Under Dr. Fahlman's leadership, the CFHT expanded its international collaborations and pioneered new technologies for the world-class optical/infrared CFHT telescope. By successfully concluding arrangements to bring Korea and Taiwan into partnership with CFHT, Dr. Fahlman helped enable the development of the Wide-Field Infrared Camera (WIRCam). While at CFHT, Dr. Fahlman oversaw the development of a new Queue Serving Observing mode that has improved the efficiency of the telescope and he played a leading role in defining the complex operational interfaces, processes and policies necessary to implement the most ambitious research project ever undertaken with CFHT, the CFHT Legacy Survey.

At NRC-HIA, Dr. Fahlman's academic and management experience guide NRC's contribution to the community-based Long Range Plan for Astronomy in Canada, as well as Canada's involvement in major astronomical observatories. He began his career in 1970 as an NRC postdoctoral fellow at Cambridge University. In September 1971 he joined the University of British Columbia's Geophysics and Astronomy department followed by the Physics and Astronomy department.

Dr. Fahlman's research interests are in the fields of observational galactic and extragalactic astronomy. He has been an active user of all telescopes supported by NRC. Most recently his research has been directed toward the study of the Milky Way's star clusters, both young and old. His particular emphasis is on the identification and study of the remnants of the oldest stars, which are used to set an independent limit on the age of the Universe.