Flagstaff, Ariz. — Eileen Friel, Lowell Observatory Director, was selected as one of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) Fellows. The citation reads:
"Eileen D. Friel, Lowell Observatory: 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."
Eileen Friel joined Lowell on June 22, 2009 as the Observatory's 10th Director. Her scientific interests are primarily in galactic evolution, in particular using star clusters as chemical and dynamical probes in the Milky Way and local group galaxies, in issues of stellar populations and stellar evolution and nucleosynthesis.
Eileen Friel earned a B.S., in Physics, William and Mary and a Ph.D. in Astronomy & Astrophysics, Univ. of California at Santa Cruz.
About Lowell Observatory
Lowell Observatory is a private, non-profit research institution founded in 1894 by Percival Lowell. The Observatory has been the site of many important findings including the discovery of the large recessional velocities (redshift) of galaxies by Vesto Slipher in 1912-1914 (a result that led ultimately to the realization the universe is expanding), and the discovery of Pluto by Clyde Tombaugh in 1930. Today, Lowell's 19 astronomers use ground-based telescopes around the world, telescopes in space, and NASA planetary spacecraft to conduct research in diverse areas of astronomy and planetary science. The Observatory welcomes about 80,000 visitors each year to its Mars Hill campus in Flagstaff, Arizona for a variety of tours, telescope viewing, and special programs. Lowell Observatory currently has four research telescopes at its Anderson Mesa dark sky site east of Flagstaff, and is building a 4-meter class research telescope, the Discovery Channel Telescope.