Trevor C. Weekes Explained

Trevor Cecil Weekes (1940, Dublin, Ireland – 2014, Sahuarita, Arizona)[1] was an Irish-born, American astronomer and pioneer of gamma-ray astronomy.[2] [3]

In 1964 Trevor Weekes married Ann Katherine Owens.[1] In 1966 he graduated with a Ph.D. from University College Dublin. His Ph.D. thesis is entitled Radio and optical methods of detecting cosmic rays.[4] He and his wife immigrated to the United States in 1966 and for a brief time lived in Boston.[1] In 1966, Trevor Weekes became a postdoctoral researcher employed by the Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory. He joined a team, initiated by Giovanni Fazio and Henry F. Helmken (1935–2011),[2] [5] that scavenged parts from searchlight mirrors to experiment with gamma-ray detection in Arizona's Santa Rita Mountains.[6] From 1967 to 1969 on Arizona's Mount Hopkins, Weekes, in collaboration with George H. Rieke, used two searchlight mirrors (each 1.5 meter in diameter) to make observations in the TeV range of gamma rays. In 1969 Tevor Weekes was appointed Resident Director of the Mount Hopkins Observatory, which in 1981 was renamed Fred Lawrence Whipple Observatory. He spent his career living with his family in Sahuarita, Arizona and working for the Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory, which from 1978 to 1982 suspended research in gamma-ray astronomy — during those years he did research in optical astronomy.[6] With more powerful detectors, Weekes and his team in 1989 established the Crab Nebula as a steady-source of gamma rays above 100 GeV, thus demonstrating the value of ground-based gamma-ray astronomy and motivating construction of more powerful gamma-ray detectors in the energy in the teraelectronvolt to petaelectronvolt range.[7]

Weekes was the instigator of the ground-based gamma-ray observatory named VERITAS (Very Energetic Radiation Imaging Telescope Array System). After some difficulties in securing a site, an array of four 12-meter optical reflectors was built near the visitors' center about halfway up to the summit of Mount Hopkins. VERITAS became operational in 2007.[6]

Upon his death he was survived by his widow, three daughters, and four grandchildren.[1]

Awards and honors

Weekes was awarded in 1997 the American Astronomical Society’s Bruno Rossi Prize and in 2007 IUPAP’s Yodh Prize.[3] The National University of Ireland in 1978[8] and in 2005 the University of Chicago awarded him honorary degrees.[2] In 2001 he was elected a fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science.[9] In 2002 he was elected an honorary member of the Royal Irish Academy. In 2013 the "Trevorfest" was held in Tucson.[2]

Selected publications

Books

References

  1. Web site: Trevor Weekes Obituary. legacy.com. June 1, 2014.
  2. Web site: The Beginning of Gamma-Ray Astronomy at the Whipple Observator. Fazio, Giovanni G.. 2013. (slides from talk at Trevorfest)
  3. News: Beal, Tom. Arizona Daily Star. 'Visionary' Trevor Weekes, pioneer of gamma-ray detection, dies at 74 . March 29, 2014 .
  4. Web site: Radio and optical methods of detecting cosmic rays . 1966PhDT.......105W . 1966 . Weekes . Trevor Cecil .
  5. News: Obituary: Dr. Henry Helmken. April 2011. South Florida Sun Sentinel.
  6. Web site: Beal, Tom. Weekes Dubbed 'Father' of his Astronomical Field. December 30, 2013. Arizona Daily Star.
  7. Tev Radiation from Galactic Sources . 1992SSRv...59..315W . Weekes . Trevor C. . Space Science Reviews . 1992 . 59 . 3–4 . 315 . 10.1007/BF00242089 .
  8. Web site: Aguisíní Appendices. National University of Ireland.
  9. Web site: Historic Fellows. American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS). (search on last_name="Weekes")

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