Gemini Observatory honored Dr. Fred Gillett, a pioneer
in infrared astronomy, by naming the Gemini North
Telescope in his honor at ceremonies at the telescope
on Mauna Kea, Hawai’i, Nov. 13, 2002.

Dr. Gillett, who died in April 2001, was one of the
primary visionaries of the Gemini telescopes. He was
instrumental in assuring that the ground-breaking
design of Gemini’s twin 8-meter telescopes would be a
major scientific contribution to astronomy in the 21st
Century.

“Fred was a true pioneer in infrared astronomy,” said Dr.
Wayne van Citters, Director of the Division of
Astronomical Sciences at the National Science
Foundation, who spoke at the ceremony. “Naming the
Gemini telescope in honor of Fred is the most fitting
tribute we can pay to him. He was instrumental in the
realization of Gemini and multitudes of other projects
throughout his career in the infrared.”

The twin Gemini telescopes are designed to exploit the
infrared portion of the spectrum, and together are able
to cover the entire celestial sphere. The telescopes are
located in the Northern Hemisphere on Mauna Kea on
the Big Island of Hawai’i and in the Southern
Hemisphere atop Cerro Pach=A2n in Chile.

Gemini Director Dr. Matt Mountain, who worked closely
with Dr. Gillett for many years on Gemini said, “If there is
one phrase that describes Fred it would be integrity of
purpose, both in his life and in his science. Fred
approached the problem of producing the world’s most
powerful infrared telescope with a single purpose. This
is a key reason why Gemini performs so well today, and
why the telescope will now be called The Frederick C.
Gillett Gemini Telescope.”

During an influential career spanning more than 40
years, Dr. Gillett was involved in almost every major
development in infrared astronomy, from early infrared
detectors to the innovative design and construction of
Gemini Observatory. Dr. Gillett also played a key role in
the discovery of the Vega Phenomenon, which refers to
the dusty disk around the bright star Vega. This
discovery, made in 1983, was the first observational
confirmation that planets could exist around stars other
than our Sun.

Although Gemini was his final project, Dr. Gillett had a
long association with the National Optical Astronomical
Observatory (NOAO) in Tucson, which he considered
home. He was associated with the success of the
Infrared Astronomy Satellite (IRAS), a milestone in the
history of infrared astronomy. In the late 1980’s he
helped establish an infrared presence at NASA. His
support and influence while at NASA also helped shape
the vision of the SIRTF and SOFIA projects. In 1990, he
chaired the Infrared Committee of the Decadal Survey
sponsored by the National Academy of Sciences. The
committee_s findings helped influence the more than
300 scientists who participated in the survey to officially
declare the 1990’s as “the Decade of the Infrared.”

“Our family is honored to have Fred recognized by his
friends and colleagues this way,” said Marian Gillett, the
widow of Dr. Gillett, at the ceremony. “The naming of the
telescope, which always looks up at the stars, just as
Fred did all his life, is a very appropriate way to
remember him.”

Approximately 60 friends, associates, family members
and others honored Dr. Gillett with a plaque dedication
ceremony at the Gemini North telescope. Approximately
100 other members of the Gemini “family” participated
via a live videoconference between Hilo, Tucson and
Chile. The ceremony was followed by a reception and
dinner in Dr. Gillett’s memory at the Hilo Hawaiian Hotel
in Hilo, Hawai’i.

A web page has been established with this press
release and links to images and a special biographical
tribute to Fred. This page can be found at:
http://www.gemini.edu/project/announcements/press/2002-13.html

The Gemini Observatory is an international
collaboration that has built two identical 8-meter
telescopes. The Frederick C. Gillett Gemini Telescope
is located at Mauna Kea, Hawai’i (Gemini North) and the
other telescope at Cerro Pach=A2n in central Chile
(Gemini South), and hence provide full coverage of both
hemispheres of the sky. Both telescopes incorporate
new technologies that allow large, relatively thin mirrors
under active control to collect and focus both optical and
infrared radiation from space.

The Gemini Observatory provides the astronomical
communities in each partner country with state-of-the-
art astronomical facilities that allocate observing time in
proportion to each country’s contribution. In addition to
financial support, each country also contributes
significant scientific and technical resources. The
national research agencies that form the Gemini
partnership include: the US National Science
Foundation (NSF), the UK Particle Physics and
Astronomy Research Council (PPARC), the Canadian
National Research Council (NRC), the Chilean
Comision Nacional de Investigacion Cientifica y
Tecnologica (CONICYT), the Australian Research
Council (ARC), the Argentinean Consejo Nacional de
Investigaciones Cientificas y Tecnicas (CONICET) and
the Brazilian Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento
CientIfico e Tecnologico (CNPq). The Observatory is
managed by the Association of Universities for
Research in Astronomy, Inc. (AURA) under a
cooperative agreement with the NSF. The NSF also
serves as the executive agency for the international
partnership.