Geoffrey Marcy

Geoffrey Marcy
250px Marcy in 2007
Born	Geoffrey William Marcy (1954-09-29) September 29, 1954 St. Clair Shores, Michigan, U.S.
Nationality	American
Fields	Astronomy, Astrophysics
Institutions	Carnegie Institution for Science San Francisco State University University of California, Berkeley
Alma mater	University of California, Los Angeles (B.A.) University of California, Santa Cruz (Ph.D.)
Doctoral advisors	George H. Herbig and Steven S. Vogt
Known for	Extrasolar planet discoveries
Notable awards	Henry Draper Medal (2001) Beatrice M. Tinsley Prize (2002) Shaw Prize (2005)

Geoffrey William Marcy (born September 29, 1954) is an American astronomer. He is one of the pioneers and leaders in the discovery and characterization of planets around other stars than the Sun. Marcy and his research teams are recognized for discovering many extrasolar planets, including 70 out of the first 100 known exoplanets and also the first planetary system around a Sun-like star, Upsilon Andromedae. Marcy was a co-Investigator on the NASA Kepler mission that discovered over 4000 exoplanets. Early collaborators include R. Paul Butler, Debra Fischer and Steven S. Vogt. Later collaborators include Jason Wright, Andrew Howard, Katie Peek, John Johnson, Erik Petigura, Lauren Weiss, Lea Hirsch and the Kepler Science Team.

He was Professor of Astronomy at the University of California, Berkeley and an Adjunct Professor of Physics and Astronomy at the San Francisco State University before stepping down in October 2015, after having been found in violation of UC Berkeley policies against sexual harassment.

Early life and education

Marcy graduated from Granada Hills High School in Granada Hills, California, in 1972. He graduated with a Bachelor of Arts summa cum laude with a double major in physics and astronomy from the University of California, Los Angeles in 1976. He then completed a doctorate in astronomy in 1982 at the University of California, Santa Cruz, with much of his work done at Lick Observatory.

Academic career

Marcy has held teaching and research positions, first at the Carnegie Institution of Washington (then the Mt. Wilson and Las Campanas Observatories) as a Carnegie Fellow from 1982 to 1984. He then worked as an Associate Professor of Physics and Astronomy from 1984 to 1996 and then as a Distinguished University Professor from 1997 to 1999 at the San Francisco State University.

Marcy was a Professor of Astronomy and the Watson and Marilyn Alberts Chair for SETI at the University of California, Berkeley from 1999 through 2015. From 2000 to 2012, he was the Director of UC Berkeley's Center for Integrative Planetary Science. Marcy was also one of the project leaders of the Breakthrough Initiatives that will search for intelligent life in the universe, using large radio and optical telescopes.

Marcy and his team confirmed Michel Mayor and Didier Queloz's discovery of the first extrasolar planet orbiting a Sun-like star—51 Pegasi b. Two months later, Marcy and his team followed this confirmation with the announcement of the discovery of two additional planets around 47 Ursa Majoris and 70 Virginis. Other achievements include discovering the first multiple planet system around a star similar to our own (Upsilon Andromedae), the first transiting planet around another star, simultaneously with David Charbonneau and Timothy Brown (HD209458b), the first extrasolar planet orbiting beyond 5 AU (55 Cancri d), and the first Neptune-sized planets (Gliese 436b and 55 Cancri e). Marcy was a Co-Investigator of the NASA Kepler mission that discovered over 4000 exoplanets, most being smaller than 4 times the size of Earth. His team, led by Erik Petigura and Andrew Howard, showed that approximately 20% of Sun-like stars have a planet of 1–2 times the size of Earth and receive incident stellar light within a factor of 4 of the light the Earth receives from the Sun, making them warm planets, many of which accommodate liquid water.

Sexual harassment scandal

In 2015, an investigation by the University of California, Berkeley Title IX office found that Geoffrey Marcy had violated the University's sexual harassment policy between 2001 and 2010. Four complaints were filed with the University's Title IX office, one of which Professor Marcy denied as false. At least three additional allegations were made against Marcy as early as 1995 while he was at San Francisco State University, as corroborated by Penny Nixon, then SFSU's sexual harassment officer.

On October 7, 2015, Geoff Marcy posted an "Open Letter to the Astronomy Community" stating “While I do not agree with each complaint that was made, it is clear that my behavior was unwelcomed by some women. I take full responsibility and hold myself completely accountable for my actions and the impact they had. For that and to the women affected, I sincerely apologize.”

On October 12, 2015, the UC Berkeley Astronomy Department met and released a statement asserting that Marcy was "inadequately disciplined" by the University, and "we believe that Geoff Marcy cannot perform the functions of a faculty member." Berkeley had recently been found on a list produced by the United States Department of Education's Office for Civil Rights, revealing that they were under review for potentially mishandling previous sexual violence cases. In a follow-up statement, the university claimed they had "imposed real consequences on Professor Geoff Marcy by establishing a zero tolerance policy regarding future behavior and by stripping him of the procedural protections that all other faculty members enjoy".

On the same day, Marcy resigned as Principal Investigator of the Breakthrough Listen project. Two days later, on October 14, 2015, he indicated his intention to step down from his professorship at UC Berkeley.

Personal

Marcy lives with his wife, Susan Kegley, in California.

In the media

Earlier, and as a pioneer in the study of extrasolar planets, Marcy has been featured prominently in the media, including Time magazine, The New York Times, Astronomy magazine and as a participant in various PBS Nova episodes: "Hunt for Alien Worlds" (1997), "Finding Life Beyond Earth" (2012), "Alien Planets Revealed" (2014); a BBC Horizon episode: "The Planet Hunters" (1996) and History Channel programs: The Universe (2007). Marcy was also featured on ABC News Nightline (October 20, 1995), The MacNeil-Lehrer News Hour (January 18, 1996), The David Letterman Show (April 12, 2001), a Planetary Radio interview (2007) and a National Academy of Sciences interview (2014).

Honors

• ABC News Hour: "Person of the Week"' (January 26, 1996)
• California Scientist of the Year (2000)
• Henry Draper Medal of the National Academy of Sciences with R. Paul Butler (2001)
• Elected Member of the National Academy of Sciences (2002)
• Beatrice Tinsley prize from the American Astronomical Society (2002)
• NASA Medal for Exceptional Scientific Achievement (2003)
• Discover Magazine: Space Scientist of the Year (2003)
• Shaw Prize with Michel Mayor (2005)
• On October 28, 2006 he received an honorary doctorate in science from the University of Delaware.
• Carl Sagan Prize for Science Popularization] from Wonderfest (2009)
• Fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences (2010)
• PNAS Cozzarelli Prize Recipient, with Erik Petigura and Andrew Howard (2013)
• On June 9, 2012 he received an honorary doctorate in science from The University of Chicago.
• Named the 2015 Miller Senior Fellow of the Miller Institute at the University of California Berkeley.

See also

• List of stars with confirmed planets

External links

• Marcy's homepage at UC Berkeley
• Autobiography
• Talk by Dr. Geoff Marcy on Extrasolar Planets (2008) on YouTube
• Interview with Geoff Marcy (March 11, 2009)
• Interview with Geoff Marcy (February 1, 2011)