Aden Meinel
|
|
Aden B. Meinel retired in 1993 as a Distinguished Scientist at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory. He is also holds the rank of Professor Emeritus at the University of Arizona Optical Sciences Center. His research interests have included upper atmospheric physics, glass technology, optical design, instrumentation and space systems.
Meinel received his Ph.D from the University of California, Berkeley in 1949. His dissertation is entitled A Spectrographic Study of the Night Sky and Aurora in the Near Infrared. In 1954, he was awarded the Helen B. Warner Prize for Astronomy by the American Astronomical Society.
During his career, Meinel was involved in the design and construction of several large telescopes, including:
- 36-inch telescope, McDonald Observatory
- 36-inch and 85-inch telescopes, Kitt Peak National Observatory
- Relocation of the 36-inch telescope, Steward Observatory
- 94-inch telescope, Steward Observatory
- 48-inch telescope, Osmania university, Hyderabad, India
- 186-inch equivalent Multiple Mirror Telescope
- 24-inch telescope, National Central University, Chung-Li, Taiwan, Republic of China
His publications include:
- The Near-Infrared Spectrum of the Night Sky and Aurora, Publications of the Astronomical Society of the Pacific, Vol. 60, No. 357, p.373
- On the Spectrum of Lightning in the Venus Atmosphere, Publications of the Astronomical Society of the Pacific, Vol. 74, No. 439, p.329
- Automatic Optical Designing for Astronomy, Publications of the Astronomical Society of the Pacific, Vol. 77, No. 455, p.136
- Catalog of Emission Lines in Astrophysical Objects, Optical Sciences Center Technical Report 27, June 1968, 195 pp.
- Power for the People, McDonnell-Douglas Corporation, 1971, 280 pp.
- Applied Solar Energy: An Introduction, Addison-Wesley, 1976, 650 pp.
- Sunsets, Twilights, and Evenings Skies, Cambridge University Press, 1983, 163 pp.
- Telescope Structures - An Evolutionary Overview, Structural mechanics of optical systems II; Proceedings of the Meeting, Los Angeles, CA, Jan. 13-15, 1987, Society of Photo-Optical Instrumentation Engineers
Asteroid 4065 Meinel is named in his honor.