UCO Mission

The University of California Observatories (UCO) is a Multi-Campus Research Unit of the University of California, with headquarters at the UC Santa Cruz campus. UCO operates on behalf of the astronomers at all ten UC campuses and is comprised of extensive technical facilities, a business office, telescope and support facilities at the Lick Observatory on Mt Hamilton and a staff of astronomers. View full UCO Mission Statement.

UCO Operates

• Lick Observatory on Mt. Hamilton, conducting both research and public programs
• UCO Technical Labs, located at UCSC, designing and fabricating state-of-the-art instrumentation for observatories throughout the world

UCO Collaborates

• As managing partner of W.M. Keck Observatory
• On large-scale multi-institutional projects such as the Thirty Meter Telescope (TMT) and Center for Adaptive Optics (CfAO)

UCO News & Events

UCO Newsletter from Director Mike Bolte

New Lick Observatory Weekend Visiting Hours: Until further notice, Lick will be open to the public from 12:00 Noon to 5:00 PM on Saturdays and Sundays. [More]

Wired Magazine writes about Thirty-Meter Telescope after attending UCO- & UCSC-Sponsored Halliday Lecture by Jerry Nelson. [More]

China joins Thirty-Meter Telescope (TMT) project. The National Astronomical Observatories of the Chinese Academy of Sciences (NAOC) to partner in planning and development of world's most advanced observatory. [More]

Lick Observatory Honors Kenneth and Gloria Levy with inaugural James Lick Award [More]

Apollo 11 Anniversary: 40 years ago Lick Observatory shot a laser at a small reflective target on the moon to precisely measure the distance between earth and moon. Read first-hand account by Remington Stone, Lick Support Scientist.

Awards & Accolades

UCB astrophysicist Geoff Marcy has won the Carl Sagan Prize, honoring his key contributions to public understanding of science. Marcy has discovered numerous extrasolar planets, and has presented many thought-provoking public lectures about his research. He will receive the prize on November 7 at Wonderfest, a public science convention. [More]

UCSC astrophysicist Enrico Ramirez-Ruiz has won the NSF CAREER Award, and will receive $500,000 over the next five years to fund research and teaching activities. CAREER recognizes "junior faculty who exemplify the role of teacher-scholars through outstanding research, excellent education, and the integration of education and research." Ramirez-Ruiz also won the prestigious Packard Fellowship in Science and Engineering last year. [More]

UCSD professor Frank Shu was awarded $1 Million Shaw Prize in Astronomy, in recognition of his outstanding lifetime contributions in theoretical astronomy. His theoretical contributions on spiral structures in galaxies and on star formation have shaped modern astrophysical research in these areas, influencing the direction of both theoretical and observational studies. [More]

UCSD astrophysicist Frank Shu was awarded the Catherine Wolfe Bruce Gold Medal for lifetime achievement in astronomy. His contributions to astrophysics range from the density-wave theory of spiral structure in disk galaxies, to the process of mass transfer in interacting binary stars, to modeling the formation of stars and planetary systems. [More]

UCB professor Alex Filippenko elected to National Academy of Sciences, in recognition of distinguished and continuing achievements in original research. This is one of the highest honors that can be awarded to a US scientist. [More]

UCSC assistant professor Mark Krumholz was awarded a 2009 Sloan Research Fellowship. Sloan Foundation Fellowships support the work of exceptional young researchers early in their academic careers and include a $50,000 grant providing unrestricted support for research over a two-year period. [More]

 

More Awards & Accolades