Guy Consolmagno Biography

Guy Consolmagno is the President of the Vatican Observatory Foundation and the Director of the Vatican Observatory. He's an astronomer who specializes in asteroids and meteorites. Consolmagno is also a religious brother of the Jesuit order. In September 2015, Pope Francis nominated him, Director of the Vatican Observatory, earning him the nickname "The Pope's Astronomer." Consolmagno SJ was born in Detroit, Michigan, in 1952. He received his bachelor's and master's degrees in Earth and Planetary Sciences from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in 1974 and 1975, respectively, and his Ph.D. in Planetary Science from the University of Arizona in 1978. He worked as a postdoctoral fellow and professor at the Harvard College Observatory from 1978 to 1980, and then as a postdoc and lecturer at MIT from 1980 to 1983. He left MIT in 1983 to join the US Peace Corps, where he taught physics and astronomy in Kenya for two years. In 1985, he returned to the United States and accepted a position as an associate professor of physics at Lafayette College in Easton, Pennsylvania, where he remained until 1989 when he entered the Jesuit order. Before being sent to the Vatican Observatory in 1993, he made vows as a Jesuit brother and studied philosophy and theology at Loyola University Chicago and physics at the University of Chicago. He held the MacLean Chair for Visiting Jesuit Scholars at St. Joseph's University in Philadelphia in the spring of 2000, the Loyola Chair at Fordham University in New York in 2006-2007, and the Lanigan Chair in Science, Medicine, and Ethics at LeMoyne College in Syracuse in the fall of 2009. He's also worked as a visiting scientist at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center as a visiting lecturer at Baltimore's Loyola College and Chicago's Loyola University. Br. Consolmagno has served on the Meteoritical Society's governing board, as well as the International Astronomical Union's (IAU) Division III, Planetary Systems Science (secretary, 2000-present) and Commission 16, Moons and Planets (president, 2003-2006). (chair, 2006-2007). He has been a member of the IAU Working Group on Planetary System Nomenclature and the Mars Nomenclature Task Group since 2008, and in 2015 he was elected head of the latter. Turn Left at Orion (with Dan M. Davis; Cambridge University Press, 1989) and Worlds Apart (with Dan M. Davis; Cambridge University Press, 1989) are two of his astronomy works (with Martha W. Schaefer; Prentice-Hall, 1993). He is the author or co-author of four books about faith and science: The Way to the Dwelling of Light (U of Notre Dame Press, 1998); Brother Astronomer (McGraw Hill, 2000); God's Mechanics (Jossey-Bass, 2007); and Would You Baptize an Extraterrestrial? (Jossey-Bass, 2007). (With Paul Mueller, Image, 2014). He also worked as an editor for The Heavens Proclaim (Vatican Observatory Publications, 2009). Since 2004, he has published a monthly astronomy piece for The Tablet, a British Catholic publication.

As a renowned expert and highly sought-after speaker, Guy Consolmagno's expertise is in high demand. To book Guy Consolmagno for your next event, conference, or workshop, please contact our speaker booking agency. Our experienced team will work closely with you to understand your specific needs and help secure Guy Consolmagno's participation. With our professional guidance and seamless booking process, you can ensure a memorable and impactful experience for your audience. Don't miss the opportunity to engage your audience with Guy Consolmagno's compelling insights and inspire positive change within your organization. Fill out the booking request form to take the first step in securing Guy Consolmagno for your next speaking engagement.