Harland Epps

Professor, Astronomy & Astrophysics

My research deals with the design and construction of high-performance optics for astronomy. My pioneering collimator and camera designs for spectrographs such as COSMIC at Palomar, HECTOCHELLE and BINOSPEC on MMT, IMACS on Magellan I, and LRIS, HIRES, ESI and DEIMOS on Keck 1 and Keck 2 are key to modern quantitative investigations of the Universe by many optical astronomers. MOSFIRE, a fully cryogenic near-ir spectrograph for KECK 1, is my latest design. It will be the most powerful instrument of its kind in the world when it is commissioned early in 2011. Visit for more details.

Academic Bio

  • Ph.D. University of Wisconsin, Madison (1964) in theoretical astrophysics.
  • Professor of Astronomy, UCLA 1965-1988
  • Visiting Scientist, Steward Observatory, University of Arizona 1973-1974
  • Visiting Scientist, OCIW (Carnegie, Pasadena) 1988-1989
  • Astronomer and Professor, UCSC 1989-Present
  • Consultant in Optical Design 1968-Present

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