Michael Garrett is the Sir Bernard Lovell Chair of Astrophysics at the University of Manchester, and Director of Jodrell Bank Centre for Astrophysics. He was previously General & Scientific Director of ASTRON (2007-2016), and responsible for the final design, construction, and operational phases of the International LOFAR Telescope. While Director of the Joint Institute for VLBI in Europe (2003-2007), he developed the technique of wide-field Very Long Baseline Interferometry and spearheaded the roll-out of real-time VLBI (e-VLBI) across the European VLBI Network and beyond. He obtained his first degree at the University of Glasgow. Garrett was instrumental in finalising the original design concept for the Square Kilometre Array (SKA) telescope and his scientific interests in astrophysics are eclectic. Currently, Garrett's main scientific focus is in searching for anomalies in large astronomical data sets, looking for the signature of energy-intensive extraterrestrial civilisations across the electromagnetic spectrum. He is chair of the International Academy of Astronautics (IAA) SETI Committee and serves on the scientific advisory boards of both the SETI Institute and Breakthrough Listen.
Professional position
- Sir Bernard Lovell Chair of Astrophysics and Director, Jodrell Bank Centre for Astrophysics (JBCA), University of Manchester
Subject groups
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Computer Sciences
Artificial intelligence, machine learning, vision
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Astronomy and Physics
Astronomy, Astrophysics
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Engineering and Materials Science
Space technology
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Other
History of science, Public engagement, Science policy
