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Gary Davis has been
the Director of the Joint Astronomy Centre since
August 2002. He leads the organisation, comprising
approximately 50 staff, responsible for operating the
James Clerk Maxwell Telescope (JCMT) and the United
Kingdom Infrared Telescope (UKIRT), and is also the
Director of both observatories. He is employed by the
Science and Technology Facilities Council (STFC) of
the United Kingdom.
Professor Davis was educated in Canada and England,
receiving his doctorate from Oxford University in
1987. He then held a research fellowship at the
Mullard Space Science Laboratory, also in the UK,
before returning to Canada in 1991 as a Professor of
Physics and Engineering Physics at the University of
Saskatchewan. Whilst at Saskatchewan his dynamic
teaching was recognised on several occasions,
including the Master Teacher Award in 1998. In
addition to his present post at the JAC, he also holds
honorary professorships at the University of
Saskatchewan, the University of British Columbia, and
Cardiff University. He was awarded an honorary Doctor
of Science degree by McMaster University in 2012.
Gary's research has focussed on the formation and
evolution of planetary systems, using various
techniques of infared spectroscopy from the ground and
from space. He led the team which developed the
Fabry-Perot subsystem for the LWS instrument which was
launched on ESA's Infrared Space Observatory in 1995.
Later, he engineered Canada's participation in the
UK-led SPIRE instrument on the Herschel spacecraft,
launched by ESA in 2009. He was also Principal
Investigator of a feasibility study, funded by the
Canadian Space Agency, of a project called MUSE, the
objective of which was to measure the
spatially-integrated infrared spectrum of the Earth as
a template in preparation for spectroscopy of
extrasolar planets and the eventual search for life.
In addition, he was a user of the JCMT for many years
before taking over as its Director, using a Fourier
transform spectrometer to measure the submillimetre
thermal emission spectra of the outer planets in our
Solar System. Finally, before moving to the JAC he was
a member of a team which successfully secured C$10M
from the Canada Foundation for Innovation for the
support of Canadian participation in the SCUBA-2
instrument for the JCMT.
Professor Davis is a member or fellow of several
professional societies, including the American
Astronomical Society, the Canadian Astronomical
Society, the Royal Astronomical Society and the
International Astronomical Union. He received a
Certificate of Recognition from the European Space
Agency in 1999, and two Group Achievement Awards from
the Royal Astronomical Society, in 2009 and 2012.
Professor Davis is married to Caroline (nee Franks),
who holds a doctorate from Oxford University in the
philosophy of religion. His personal interests include
choral singing, antique maps, timekeeping and
navigation, hiking and wilderness canoeing. He also
has the good fortune to be a supporter and shareholder
of Everton Football Club.
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