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Astronomy Dept. Faculty, Emeritus Faculty, and Postdocs in 2001
The faculty of the Astronomy Department are its
most important long-term assets. Correspondingly we need to invest strategically in their long-term success.
Those who are at the start of their career trajectories will return the most for the investment since they
will be active for the next 30 years. However, our senior faculty remain as productive as ever, and have a
proven track record. Retaining them and keeping them fully engaged in research and mentoring -- that is,
protecting them from encroachments on their time and us from recruitment "attacks" -- is a winner for all.
Click on this link to read more about the
Research Interests of the U.W. Astronomy Faculty.
There are many ways to invest in the careers of
our faculty. Some suggestions follow; however, we prefer to fashion a program in close collaboration with
potential benefactors. Similarly there are many ways to establish exciting Centers of Excellence.
We urge donors to
contact us
before making substantial contributions so that we may optimize the benefits of a gift.
Faculty Endowments, Postdoctoral Fellowships & Centers of Excellence
Endowed Faculty Professorships & Chairs:
(please contact us to discuss a program)
An Endowed Chair is the highest reward for, and the most appropriate means of
recognizing the accomplishments of an exiting faculty member or an extremely enticing means to recruit top faculty
from other leading institutions. The endowment pays the full salary of the recipient and provides excellent
research support. The recipient is then free to pursue his/her interests with minimal distractions or other obligations.
Endowed Professorships are similar to Endowed Chairs, except that salary support is not available.
Endowed Professorships provide discretionary research support, equipment, student support, travel, visits by collaborators,
publication costs, and/or a month of summer salary (remember, faculty are normally paid during the 9-month academic year).
Prize Postdoctoral Fellowships:
(please contact us to discuss a program)
Postdoctoral positions ("postdocs") offer crucial opportunities for new PhDs to engage in independent research during
their most productive and creative years, to hone and broaden their research talents and interests, and to develop
research credentials that are needed before they can apply and qualify for permanent faculty or staff positions.
The competition for postdocs is a fierce, almost Darwinian process of selection. Prize postdoctoral positions that
offer complete research independence are the most sought and prestigious of all positions.
Outstanding postdocs are an enormous benefit to the Department and its faculty and students. Postdocs are stimulating
people, fresh with youthful exuberance and irreverence, who provide essential role models for our graduate students.
The prize itself as well as its recipients are recognized internationally.
The suggested donation for a named fellowship is $70,000 per year for salary, benefits, and limited travel,
with a minimum three-year commitment. The support can be funded from the income from a $1,500,000 endowment.
Centers of Excellence:
(please contact us to discuss a program)
A Center is an extraordinarily opportunity to create a U.W.-based research institute of international excellence
containing several esteemed long-term faculty members, perhaps a postdoc or two, and several students, depending
on the income from the endowment. A Center allows the University and the Department to respond to exciting
research growth areas at an opportune time, and to make an outstanding and very timely impact in research and
graduate education. Potential examples of research centers are a Center for Theoretical Astrophysics,
a Center for Planetary Formation, or a a Center for Observational Cosmology.
The operation
of a major center over five years would require a minimum annual budget of $400,000 for salaries, hardware, and
operations costs. A $10M endowment will provide independent, sustained funding for two faculty, a mixture
of postdocs and graduate students, travel, research support and publication costs.
Distinguished Faculty Visitors:
(please contact us to discuss a program)
Visits and one-quarter courses taught by distinguished outside members of the astronomical community promote
research diversity within the Department and promote research "resonances" with extant faculty, postdocs, and
students that serve everyone's interests. In the past some of these distinguished visitors have found the
Department and Seattle so attractive that we have fostered a long-term working relationship with them. We will
honor the visiting scholar and the donor at a modest ceremony, such as a dinner and a public lecture held on
the U.W. campus, to which donors and their families and guests will be invited. The suggested donation is an
endowment of $500,000 or a gift of $25,000 per year of the program.
A distinguished colloquium speaker series can be established for $1500 per visit, including a small dinner to honor the
visitor. The donor, a guest, and some of our faculty and studenets would accompany the visitor.
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