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Faculty Spotlight - 2024 President鈥檚 Medal Honoree Dr. Frazer Owen When the National Science Foundation (NSF) approved the Very Large Array (VLA) in 1973, Frazer Owen had just begun his career at the National Radio Astronomy Observatory (NRAO) in Virginia. From that moment, he was connected to what would become one of the most important scientific instruments of the modern era. In 1975, he traveled to Socorro for the first time for a review meeting, not knowing then that the New Mexico desert and the small town at its edge would become his lifelong home. Frazer was among the first to use the VLA for research, publishing results from some of the earliest observations in 1977. The array and the discoveries it enabled shaped his career as much as he helped shape its future. He worked on the design and development of instruments at NRAO, contributed to space-based astronomy projects across the spectrum from X-ray to infrared, and served on national committees setting directions for the next generation of telescopes. He was also a key figure in the creation of ALMA, the Atacama Large Millimeter/Submillimeter Array in Chile. From suggesting the initial concept in 1982 to helping identify the final site high in the Andes, he shepherded the project through design and organization and served as its Project Scientist. Frazer鈥檚 path was not only about research. When he and Jean moved to Socorro in 1980 (she came for a faculty position in 色狐入口 Tech鈥檚 Physics Department and he came to be closer to the VLA site), he began advising students and serving as an adjunct professor. Over the years he supervised 12 master鈥檚 students and 12 Ph.D. candidates, with many of their projects shared with Jean. Their first shared Ph.D. student, Aileen O鈥橠onoghue, graduated in 1989, and their last joint student, Joshua Marvil, in 2014. The students, colleagues, and collaborations that grew from those decades remain among his proudest accomplishments. Life in Socorro became more than professional. Frazer and Jean bought their house on Tech Hill in 1980, settling into a community that has held them for 45 years. He recalls riding the NRAO bus home from long days at the site, playing bridge on the way, or heading out with friends for Friday night dinners in Datil. He remembers the bitter cold of his earliest visits, including the record-breaking -20掳F nights at the VLA, and the surprises of the Plains of San Agustin: summer rains that brought frogs back to life, artifacts from ancient peoples, and the quiet beauty of the New Mexico high desert. Frazer officially retired from NRAO in 2020, but he remains Emeritus and continues to walk daily to his office campus, a facility he helped design. He and Jean still collaborate with colleagues, conduct research, and sustain the long and fruitful partnership between NRAO and NMT. Together, they have chosen to invest deeply in the place that became their home. They support graduate students in physics, contribute to local charities, and are committed to strengthening ties between NMT and NRAO. As Frazer reflects, he and Jean have no close family nearby, so their greatest legacy will be here in Socorro: in the students they mentored, the colleagues they supported, the institutions they sustained, and the community they have loved. Being named a President鈥檚 Medal honoree is, for Frazer, not about recognition of past achievements but about gratitude: for the telescope that shaped his life鈥檚 work, for the students and colleagues who made the journey worthwhile, and for the town and university that became home. |
Dr. Frazer Owen