MITDV Events

Prof. Richard Binzel, MIT

Prof. Richard Binzel is credited with having established compelling evidence linking certain Earth-impacting meteorite types with specific asteroids. In 1999, Prof. Binzel devised the ten-point Torino Impact Hazard Scale, which assigns a number to the likelihood that a newly discovered asteroid merits public concern. His current research includes ongoing telescopic research with spectral characterization of asteroids posing a potential hazard to Earth as well as those that may be most easily reachable by future robotic and human missions. Currently he serves on NASA’s Task Force for Planetary Defense which has responsibility for assessing possible future asteroid hazards.

Richard P. Binzel, Professor of Planetary Science in the department of Earth, Atmospheric, and Planetary Sciences at MIT, is one of the world’s leading scientists in the study of both asteroids and Pluto. Prof. Binzel published his first scientific paper at the age of 15, completed his Bachelor’s degree in physics at Macalester College and received his Ph.D. in astronomy from the University of Texas. Prof. Binzel has written two articles for Scientific American describing Pluto (June 1990) and the origin of asteroids (October 1991). In recognition of his contributions to the field, Asteroid number 2873 (discovered in 1982) bears his name, an honor bestowed by the International Astronomical Union. Prof. Binzel has also been honored with a Presidential Young Investigator award from President George H. W. Bush in 1990 and the Harold C. Urey Prize from the American Astronomical Society Division for Planetary Sciences in 1991. In recognition of his excellence in undergraduate teaching at MIT, Prof. Binzel was named a MacVicar Faculty Fellow in 1994.
Prof. Binzel photo courtesy of MIT; asteroid photo courtesy of NASA.