PAUL L. SCHECHTER, William
A. M. Burden Professor of Astrophysics
Research Interests
Professor Schechter is an observational astronomer
who studies galaxies and clusters of
galaxies and the distribution of dark matter therein. For
the last several years, he has been carrying
out ground-based optical and Hubble
Space Telescope observations of the mirages produced
by extragalactic gravitational potentials. Schechter played
a major role in the development and implementation of the active
optics system for the 6.5-m Magellan Telescopes, located on Cerro
Las Campanas in Chile. He is currently working on an adaptive optics
system that will partially compensate for the blurring effects of
the Earth's atmosphere.
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Biographical Sketch
Paul Schechter received his undergraduate degree from Cornell in
1968 and his Ph.D. from Caltech in 1975. Before coming to MIT in
1988, he held postdoctoral positions at the Institute for Advanced
Study and the University of Arizona, a faculty position at Harvard,
and staff positions at Kitt Peak National Observatory and the Carnegie
Observatories.
[top] Selected Publications
"Quasar Microlensing at High Magnification and the Role of
Dark Matter: Enhanced Fluctuations and Suppressed Saddlepoints,"
Paul L. Schechter and Joachim Wambsganss, submitted to Ap.J.
"Microlensing of Relativistic Knots in the Quasar HE1104-1805,"
P. L. Schechter, A. Udalski, M. Szymanski et al., submitted
to Ap.J.
"Tales within Tales and Cutoffs within Cutoffs: What Sets
the Mass Scale for Galaxies?" Paul L. Schechter, to be published
in Lighthouses of the Universe, eds. Sunyaev et al.
"H_0 from Gravitational Lenses: Recent Results," Paul
L. Schechter, to be published in Proceedings of IAU Symposium
2001, eds. A.N. Lasenby and A. Wilkinson.
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