Eileen Dolores Friel is an American astronomer specializing in themetallicity ofstar clusters. She is a former director of theMaria Mitchell Observatory andLowell Observatory, and a professor emeritus of astronomy atIndiana University.
Friel was a physics major at theCollege of William & Mary. After going to theUniversity of Cambridge forPart III of the Mathematical Tripos, she returned to the US for doctoral study in astronomy and astrophysics at theUniversity of California, Santa Cruz.[1] Her dissertation,A study of the stellar populations in two high galactic latitude fields with comparison to galaxy models, was completed in 1986 under the supervision ofRobert Kraft.[2]
After postdoctoral research positions at theParis Observatory,NRC Herzberg Astronomy and Astrophysics Research Centre, andUniversity of Hawaii, she served as director of theMaria Mitchell Observatory for five years.[1] She moved to theNational Science Foundation as a program director in the Division of Astronomical Sciences,[3] and served there as deputy director of the division for many years.[1] In 2009 she was named director of theLowell Observatory;[3] however, she stepped down a year later,[4] and moved to Indiana University in 2011.[1]
Friel was named a Fellow of theAmerican Association for the Advancement of Science in 2009, "for distinguished service to the astronomical community as Executive Officer of the Astronomical Section at the National Science Foundation (NSF), and for diligently mentoring many young scientists in the Research Experiences for Undergraduates program".[5] In 2020, Indiana University gave her their Bicentennial Medal.[1]
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