Bash, Frank N.

Frank N. Bash, Ph.D., served from 1989-2003 as director of the University of Texas McDonald Observatory, one the world's foremost astronomical research institutions located near Fort Davis, Texas.

A native of Medford, Oregon, Bash earned his bachelor's degree from Willamette University in Salem, Oregon; his master's degree in astronomy from Harvard University; and his doctorate from the University of Virginia. A well-known and widely published specialist in radio astronomy, Bash joined the faculty of the University of Texas at Austin in 1969. He served as Chairman of the UT Department of Astronomy from 1982 through 1986. In 1985, he was named the Frank N. Edmonds Regents Professor of Astronomy. As a researcher, Bash was interested in large-scale star formation processes in spiral galaxies. He won numerous awards for the quality of his teaching, and was named to the teaching excellence Hall of Fame at UT Austin in 1984.

As the director of the McDonald Observatory, Bash led the effort for the design, funding, and construction of the 11-meter Hobby-Eberly Telescope, which has the largest primary mirror in the world.

Bash also led the effort to expand the public outreach programs of the McDonald Observatory. These programs included the observatory's Visitors' Center, the Texas Astronomy Education Center, and StarDate radio.

(from the UT Astronomy Department)

From the guide to the Frank N. Bash Papers 2011-326., ca. 1969-2004, (Dolph Briscoe Center for American History, University of Texas at Austin)