Captain Kirk Leads Astrophysics Data Support

Volume 11, Number 3, September 1995
By Roger Dilling
Dr. Kirk Borne joined Hughes STX in late July 1995 when he assumed the position of Hughes STX division manager for Astrophysics Data Support for NSSDC's sister organization, the Astrophysics Data Facility (ADF). The major responsibilities of his 14-person division are to support the tasks of the ADF, which includes the Astronomical Data Center; the acquisition and archiving of submillimeter, infrared, ultraviolet/optical, X-ray, and gamma-ray astrophysics data into the NSSDC; the development of user interfaces for archived astrophysical data; and object-oriented data base applications. Most recently, Dr. Borne was the Space Telescope-Data Archive and Distribution System (ST-DADS) project scientist for the Hubble Data Archive and Distribution Service at the Space Telescope Science Institute (STScI) in Baltimore, Maryland. He was on the Association of Universities for Research in Astronomy, Inc. (AURA) staff at STScI for ten years. Dr. Borne received his Ph.D. in astrophysics in 1982 from Caltech where his research work was in the field of interacting binary galaxies. His recent spectacular Hubble Space Telescope (HST) results on the "Cartwheel" Ring Galaxy have been featured in several popular science magazines this year. He has carried out research at major astronomical observatories in the United States, Chile, and Spain. Currently, he is carrying out a number of research projects using observations from HST, the Roentgen Satellite (ROSAT), and the International Ultraviolet Explorer (IUE).

Known as "Captain Kirk" by friends and colleagues, Kirk is a Star Trek fan and has given public lectures at Trek conventions. Also an avid runner, Kirk has completed three 26-mile marathon races and hopes to compete in his fourth later this year. Kirk and his wife, Colleen, have twin pre-teen daughters.

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Author:Miranda Beall
Curators: Erin Gardner and Miranda Beall
Responsible Official: Dr. Joseph H. King, Code 633
Last Revised: 04 Dec 1996 [EDG]