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Robert Raynolds McMath | |
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| Born | May 11, 1891 |
| Died | January 2, 1962 (1962-01-03) (aged 70) |
| Known for | Solar astronomy |
| Parent | Francis C. McMath |
| Awards | Rittenhouse Medal(1936) |
| Scientific career | |
| Fields | Astronomy |
Robert Raynolds McMath (May 11, 1891 – January 2, 1962) was an Americansolarastronomer.[1]
McMath was a bridge engineer, businessman, and astronomer. His father,Francis C. McMath, had made a fortune as a bridge builder. They both had a keen interest in amateur astronomy. So in 1922, the McMaths, along with JudgeHenry S. Hulbert founded theMcMath–Hulbert Observatory inLake Angelus, Michigan. It was deeded to theUniversity of Michigan in 1931, McMath served as the director of the McMath–Hulbert Observatory until 1961.
In 1932, McMath extended the functionality of thespectroheliograph so that it could recordmotion pictures of the Sun. This machine is known as aspectroheliokinematograph; with it, he took astonishing moving pictures ofsolar storms, showing features on the Sun's surface that lasted from seconds to days.
In 1933, he and his father received theFranklin Institute'sJohn Price Wetherill Medal. He was elected to theAmerican Philosophical Society in 1942.[2] In 1958, he was elected to the United StatesNational Academy of Sciences.[3]
McMath was an adviser to theNational Science Foundation in its early years and he chaired the panel that advised NSF on the need for a national observatory. A site onKitt Peak,Arizona was finally chosen for theKitt Peak National Observatory (KPNO). McMath, along with the eminent astronomerKeith Pierce, built a new, larger solar telescope on Kitt Peak called theMcMath–Pierce solar telescope. McMath served as the first president ofAssociation of Universities for Research in Astronomy (AURA) from 1957 to 1958, and thereafter as chairman of the AURA board.
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