Guido Münch Paniagua (June 9, 1921 – 29 April 2020) was a Mexican astronomer and astrophysicist.

Biography

Münch was born in San Cristobal de las Casas,

Mexico Mexico (Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a country in the southern portion of North America. It is bordered to the north by the United States; to the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; to the southeast by Guatema ...

. He studied civil engineering and mathematics at the National Autonomous University of Mexico, receiving his bachelor's degree in civil engineering and mathematics in 1939 and his master's degree in mathematics in 1944. He then went to the

University of Chicago The University of Chicago (UChicago, Chicago, U of C, or UChi) is a private university, private research university in Chicago, Illinois. Its main campus is located in Chicago's Hyde Park, Chicago, Hyde Park neighborhood. The University of Chic ...

, where he was published in ''Astronomy and Astrophysics'' in 1946 ("Problems of radiative transfer in the theory of stellar atmospheres"). He then went to the Tacubaya Observatory of the University of Mexico, but returned to the University of Chicago in 1947 as an instructor, and became an assistant professor in 1949. There he worked at the

Yerkes Observatory Yerkes Observatory ( ) is an astronomical observatory located in Williams Bay, Wisconsin, United States. The observatory was operated by the University of Chicago Department of Astronomy and Astrophysics from its founding in 1897 to 2018. Owner ...

, and worked with astrophysicist Subrahmanyan Chandrasekhar on radiative transfer in stars. He also worked with

Gerhard Herzberg Gerhard Heinrich Friedrich Otto Julius Herzberg, (; December 25, 1904 – March 3, 1999) was a German-Canadian pioneering physicist and physical chemist, who won the Nobel Prize for Chemistry in 1971, "for his contributions to the knowledge o ...

and

William Wilson Morgan William Wilson Morgan (January 3, 1906 – June 21, 1994) was an American astronomer and astrophysicist. The principal theme in Morgan's work was stellar and galaxy classification. He is also known for helping prove the existence of spiral arms i ...

on astronomic spectroscopy. He moved to

Caltech The California Institute of Technology (branded as Caltech or CIT)The university itself only spells its short form as "Caltech"; the institution considers other spellings such a"Cal Tech" and "CalTech" incorrect. The institute is also occasional ...

in 1951, becoming professor there and working at the Mount Wilson and Palomar observatories. From 1977 to 1991, Münch was Director at the

Max Planck Institute for Astronomy The Max-Planck-Institut für Astronomie (Max Planck Institute for Astronomy, MPIA) is a research institute of the Max Planck Society (MPG). It is located in Heidelberg, Baden-Württemberg, Germany near the top of the Königstuhl, adjacent to the ...

in Heidelberg, in addition to serving as professor at the

University of Heidelberg } Heidelberg University, officially the Ruprecht Karl University of Heidelberg, (german: Ruprecht-Karls-Universität Heidelberg; la, Universitas Ruperto Carola Heidelbergensis) is a public research university in Heidelberg, Baden-Württemberg, ...

. He also worked at the joint German-Spanish Calar Alto Observatory, and at the

Instituto de Astrofísica de Canarias The Instituto de Astrofísica de Canarias (IAC) is an astrophysical research institute located in the Canary Islands, Spain. It was founded in 1975 at the University of La Laguna. It operates two astronomical observatories in the Canary Islands: ...

in Tenerife (from 1992 to 1996). Münch studied the theory of stellar atmospheres, stellar spectroscopy, interstellar matter, the spectroscopy of

nebulae A nebula ('cloud' or 'fog' in Latin; pl. nebulae, nebulæ or nebulas) is a distinct luminescent part of interstellar medium, which can consist of ionized, neutral or molecular hydrogen and also cosmic dust. Nebulae are often star-forming region ...

, the structure of galaxies, solar physics and planetology. He worked in both observation and theory. He died in April 2020 at the age of 98.Guido Münch (1921 – 2020)
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Awards

In 1944, 1945 and 1958 Münch was named a

Guggenheim Fellow Guggenheim Fellowships are grants that have been awarded annually since by the John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation to those "who have demonstrated exceptional capacity for productive scholarship or exceptional creative ability in the a ...

. He was a member of the

American Academy of Arts and Sciences The American Academy of Arts and Sciences (abbreviation: AAA&S) is one of the oldest learned societies in the United States. It was founded in 1780 during the American Revolution by John Adams, John Hancock, James Bowdoin, Andrew Oliver, a ...

(1962), the National Academy of Sciences (1967) and in 1982 he became a founding member of the

Third World Academy of Sciences The World Academy of Sciences (TWAS) is a merit-based science academy established for developing countries, uniting 1,000 scientists in some 70 countries. Its principal aim is to promote scientific capacity and excellence for sustainable deve ...

. He was an honorary doctor of the National Mexican Institute for Astrophysics, Optics and Electronics. In 1968, he received the NASA Medal of Exceptional Scientific Merit for his involvement in the

Mariner A sailor, seaman, mariner, or seafarer is a person who works aboard a watercraft as part of its crew, and may work in any one of a number of different fields that are related to the operation and maintenance of a ship. The profession of the ...

Viking Vikings ; non, víkingr is the modern name given to seafaring people originally from Scandinavia (present-day Denmark, Norway and Sweden), who from the late 8th to the late 11th centuries raided, pirated, traded and se ...

and

Pioneer Pioneer commonly refers to a settler who migrates to previously uninhabited or sparsely inhabited land. In the United States pioneer commonly refers to an American pioneer, a person in American history who migrated west to join in settling and de ...

missions on infrared radiometry. (His work on the Martian atmosphere led to a critically important downward revision in estimates of the planet's atmospheric density.) In 1989, he was awarded
Prince of Asturias Award
and in the same year, the

International Astronomical Union The International Astronomical Union (IAU; french: link=yes, Union astronomique internationale, UAI) is a nongovernmental organisation with the objective of advancing astronomy in all aspects, including promoting astronomical research, outreac ...

organized a conference in his honor in Granada. In 1998 he received the Spanish

Civil Order of Alfonso X, the Wise The Civil Order of Alfonso X the Wise ( es, Orden Civil de Alfonso X el Sabio) is a Spanish civil order established in 1939, recognising activities in the fields of education, science, culture, higher education and research. The order was create ...

, with the Grand Cross. His doctoral advisees have included Judith Gamora Cohen, Jim Gunn, Robert A. Parker, Mónica Rodríguez, and

Virginia Trimble Virginia Louise Trimble (born 1943) is an American astronomer specializing in the structure and evolution of stars and galaxies, and the history of astronomy. She has published more than 600 works in Astrophysics, and dozens of other works in ...

Writings

*"Interstellar Absorption Lines in Distant Stars", Astrophys. J., 1957 *"The Theory of Model Stellar Model Atmospheres", in Jesse Greenstein ''Stellar Atmospheres'', University of Chicago Press 1960 *"An Analysis of the Spectrum of Mars", Astrophys. Journal, vol. 139, 1964 *"Galactic Structure and Interstellar Absorption Lines", in Adriaan Blaauw, Maarten Schmidt ''Galactic Structure'', University of Chicago Press, 1965 *"The Structure of the Atmosphere on the Major Planets", with Laurence M. Trafton, ''Journal of the Atmospheric Sciences'', vol. 26, 1969, p. 813 *"Helium Abundance on Jupiter", with Donald M. Hunten, ''Space Science Reviews'', vol. 14, 1973, p. 433-443

External links

Guggenheim Foundation profile

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Munch, Guido 1921 births 2020 deaths 20th-century astronomers People from San Cristóbal de las Casas University of Chicago staff Heidelberg University faculty National Autonomous University of Mexico alumni Max Planck Society people Mexican astronomers Mexican astrophysicists Members of the United States National Academy of Sciences Recipients of the Civil Order of Alfonso X, the Wise Mexican people of German descent Mexican expatriates in the United States Mexican expatriates in Germany Max Planck Institute directors