Lodewijk Woltjer studied at the University of Leiden under Jan Oort

Jan Oort

Jan Hendrik Oort was a Dutch astronomer. He was a pioneer in the field of radio astronomy. The Oort cloud of comets bears his name....

 earning a PhD in astronomy

Astronomy

Astronomy is a natural science that deals with the study of celestial objects and phenomena that originate outside the atmosphere of Earth...

 in 1957 with a thesis on the Crab Nebula

Crab Nebula

The Crab Nebula  is a supernova remnant and pulsar wind nebula in the constellation of Taurus...

. This was followed by post-doctoral research appointments to various American universities and the subsequent appointment of professor of theoretical astrophysics and plasma physics in the University of Leiden. From 1964 to 1974 he was Rutherford Professor of Astronomy and Chair of the Astronomy Department at Columbia University

Columbia University

Columbia University in the City of New York is a private, Ivy League university in Manhattan, New York City. Columbia is the oldest institution of higher learning in the state of New York, the fifth oldest in the United States, and one of the country's nine Colonial Colleges founded before the...

 in New York

New York

New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...

. From 1975 to 1987 he was Director General of the European Southern Observatory

European Southern Observatory

The European Southern Observatory is an intergovernmental research organisation for astronomy, supported by fifteen countries...

 (ESO), where he led the construction of the Very Large Telescope

Very Large Telescope

The Very Large Telescope is a telescope operated by the European Southern Observatory on Cerro Paranal in the Atacama Desert of northern Chile. The VLT consists of four individual telescopes, each with a primary mirror 8.2m across, which are generally used separately but can be used together to...

. In 1994–1997 he was President of the International Astronomical Union

International Astronomical Union

The International Astronomical Union IAU is a collection of professional astronomers, at the Ph.D. level and beyond, active in professional research and education in astronomy...

. Woltjer was honored in 1987 with the Karl Schwarzschild Medal

Karl Schwarzschild Medal

The Karl Schwarzschild Medal, named after the astrophysicist Karl Schwarzschild, is an award presented by the Astronomische Gesellschaft to eminent astronomers and astrophysicists.-Recipients:...

.

He was the first Editor-in-Chief of The Astronomy and Astrophysics Review

The Astronomy and Astrophysics Review

The Astronomy and Astrophysics Review is a peer-reviewed scientific journal that is published quarterly by Springer Science+Business Media. The editor-in-chief is Thierry Courvoisier...

, inaugurated in 1989; and also the Editor of the Astronomical Journal in 1967 to 1974.

Dr. Woltjer has been honored by membership in a number of European Academies of Sciences, including Belgian, British, Dutch, French, and Swedish.

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