Biography:Michael H. Hecht

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Short description: American astronomer

Michael H. Hecht is a research scientist, associate director for research management at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology's Haystack Observatory,[1] and former deputy project director of the Event Horizon Telescope.[2] He served as lead scientist for the Microscopy, Electrochemistry, and Conductivity Analyzer instrument on the Phoenix Mars lander,[3] and as principal investigator for the Mars Oxygen ISRU Experiment (MOXIE) instrument on the Mars 2020 rover.[4]

Career

Hecht obtained an A.B. in Physics from Princeton University, an MS from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and a Ph.D. from Stanford University in 1982.[5]

Hecht joined the staff of California Institute of Technology's Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) in 1982,[6] where he researched microelectromechanical systems, surface and interface science, scientific instrument development, and planetary science.[5] He co-invented the Ballistic Electron Emission Microscopy system[7] and published several highly-cited papers on metal-semiconductor interfaces,[8][9] for which he received the newly-renamed Lew Allen Award for Excellence in 1990.[6][10] At JPL, as the supervisor of the Microdevices Laboratory's In-Situ Exploration Technology Group,[11] he developed the concept for the Deep Space 2 micro-landers, which flew to Mars in 1999.[12] He was later named the project manager, co-investigator, and project scientist for the Mars Environmental Compatibility Assessment (MECA) instrument for the cancelled Mars Surveyor 2001 mission.[5][13] The MECA instrument was later flown as the Microscopy, Electrochemistry, and Conductivity Analyzer on the Phoenix mission to Mars in 2007,[14] with Hecht as lead scientist and co-investigator, and was instrumental in the discovery of perchlorate in Martian soil.[15][16] Based on that work, Hecht published highly-cited papers on the chemistry of Martian soil and the existence of water on Mars.[17][18][19][20]

After almost 30 years at JPL, Hecht was appointed as an associate director of MIT's Haystack Observatory.[21] In 2014, the MOXIE instrument, for which Hecht is the principal investigator, was selected as one of the instruments on the Perseverance rover for the Mars 2020 mission.[22][23][24] In 2019, Hecht was one of the scientists awarded the 2020 Breakthrough Prize in Fundamental Physics for his work with the Event Horizon Telescope to produce the first image of a supermassive black hole.[25][26]

References

  1. "Scientists Reveal First Image Ever Made Of A Black Hole, Thanks To MIT" (in en). 2019-04-10. https://www.wgbh.org/news/2017/04/05/science-and-technology/could-mits-earth-sized-telescope-provide-first-image-black-hole. 
  2. "A year after the first black hole image, the EHT has been stymied by the coronavirus" (in en-US). 2020-04-10. https://www.sciencenews.org/article/first-black-hole-image-event-horizon-telescope-coronavirus. 
  3. Kerr, Richard A. (2008-09-30). "Phoenix Finds Signs of Once-Liquid Water on Mars" (in en). https://www.science.org/content/article/phoenix-finds-signs-once-liquid-water-mars. 
  4. Strickland, Ashley (2019-12-27). "Four ways the Mars 2020 rover will pave the way for a manned mission". https://www.cnn.com/2019/12/27/world/mars-2020-rover-preview-scn/index.html. 
  5. 5.0 5.1 5.2 Wingate, Lory Mitchell (5 August 2014). Project management for research and development : guiding innovation for positive R & D outcomes. Boca Raton, FL. ISBN 978-1-4665-9630-6. OCLC 884012699. 
  6. 6.0 6.1 "ASK Talks with Dr. Michael Hecht". NASA Academy of Program/Project & Engineering Leadership. 2003-06-01. https://appel.nasa.gov/2003/06/01/ask-talks-with-dr-michael-hecht/. 
  7. Haggerty, James J. (1995). Spinoff 1994. Washington, D.C.: National Aeronautics and Space Administration, Office of Space Access and Technology, Commercial Development and Technology Transfer Division. ISBN 0-16-045368-2. OCLC 664389243. 
  8. Grunthaner, P. J.; Hecht, M. H.; Grunthaner, F. J.; Johnson, N. M. (1987-01-15). "The localization and crystallographic dependence of Si suboxide species at the SiO2/Si interface". Journal of Applied Physics 61 (2): 629–638. doi:10.1063/1.338215. ISSN 0021-8979. Bibcode1987JAP....61..629G. 
  9. Hecht, M. H. (1990-07-01). "Photovoltaic effects in photoemission studies of Schottky barrier formation". Journal of Vacuum Science & Technology B: Microelectronics Processing and Phenomena 8 (4): 1018–1024. doi:10.1116/1.585023. ISSN 0734-211X. Bibcode1990JVSTB...8.1018H. 
  10. "The Lew Allen Award for Excellence Recipients". https://scienceandtechnology.jpl.nasa.gov/community/awards-achievements/lew-allen-award-excellence/lew-allen-award-excellence-recipients. 
  11. (in en) Space Microelectronics. Center for Space Microelectronics Technology, Jet Propulsion Laboratory, California Institute of Technology. 1997. https://books.google.com/books?id=xKhAfgHN02EC&q=michael+hecht+surface+science+spectra. 
  12. Conway, Erik M., 1965- (30 March 2015). Exploration and engineering : the Jet Propulsion Laboratory and the quest for Mars. Baltimore. pp. 159. ISBN 978-1-4214-1605-2. OCLC 904420957. 
  13. Kounaves, Samuel P.; Lukow, Stafan R.; Comeau, Brian P.; Hecht, Michael H.; Grannan-Feldman, Sabrina M.; Manatt, Ken; West, Steven J.; Wen, Xiaowen et al. (24 July 2003). "Mars Surveyor Program '01 Mars Environmental Compatibility Assessment wet chemistry lab: A sensor array for chemical analysis of the Martian soil". Journal of Geophysical Research (American Geophysical Union) 108 (E7): 13-1 - 13-12. doi:10.1029/2002JE001978. PMID 14686320. Bibcode2003JGRE..108.5077K. 
  14. Kounaves, Samuel P.; Hecht, Michael H.; West, Steven J.; Morookian, John-Michael; Young, Suzanne M. M.; Quinn, Richard; Grunthaner, Paula; Wen, Xiaowen et al. (2018-02-07). "The MECA Wet Chemistry Laboratory on the 2007 Phoenix Mars Scout Lander". Journal of Geophysical Research: Planets 114 (E3). doi:10.1029/2008JE003084. ISSN 2169-9097. Bibcode2009JGRE..114.0A19K. 
  15. Boyle, Alan (2008-08-06). "Scientists: Martian soil similar to Chile's desert" (in en). http://www.nbcnews.com/id/26043028/ns/technology_and_science-space/t/scientists-martian-soil-similar-chiles-desert/. 
  16. Chang, Kenneth (2009-03-16). "Blobs in Photos of Mars Lander Stir a Debate: Are They Water?" (in en-US). The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. https://www.nytimes.com/2009/03/17/science/17mars.html. 
  17. Hecht, M. H.; Kounaves, S. P.; Quinn, R. C.; West, S. J.; Young, S. M. M.; Ming, D. W.; Catling, D. C.; Clark, B. C. et al. (2009-07-02). "Detection of Perchlorate and the Soluble Chemistry of Martian Soil at the Phoenix Lander Site". Science 325 (5936): 64–67. doi:10.1126/science.1172466. ISSN 0036-8075. PMID 19574385. Bibcode2009Sci...325...64H. 
  18. Smith, P. H.; Tamppari, L. K.; Arvidson, R. E.; Bass, D.; Blaney, D.; Boynton, W. V.; Carswell, A.; Catling, D. C. et al. (2009-07-03). "H2O at the Phoenix Landing Site" (in en). Science 325 (5936): 58–61. doi:10.1126/science.1172339. ISSN 0036-8075. PMID 19574383. Bibcode2009Sci...325...58S. https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/science.1172339. 
  19. Hecht, Michael H. (2001-10-19). "Metastability of Liquid Water on Mars" (in en). Icarus 156 (2): 373–386. doi:10.1006/icar.2001.6794. 
  20. Yen, A. S.; Kim, S. S.; Hecht, M. H.; Frant, M. S.; Murray, B. (2000-09-15). "Evidence That the Reactivity of the Martian Soil Is Due to Superoxide Ions" (in en). Science 289 (5486): 1909–1912. doi:10.1126/science.289.5486.1909. ISSN 0036-8075. PMID 10988066. Bibcode2000Sci...289.1909Y. https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/science.289.5486.1909. 
  21. "Oscar On Mars: Fact Checking 'The Martian' With The Scientists Sending MOXIE To Mars" (in en). https://www.wbur.org/radioboston/2016/02/26/oscar-mars-science. 
  22. World, Andy Extance, Chemistry. "Next Mars Rover Will Make Oxygen from CO2" (in en). https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/next-mars-rover-will-make-oxygen-from-co2/. 
  23. Strickland, Ashley. "Four ways the Mars 2020 rover will pave the way for a manned mission". https://www.cnn.com/2019/12/27/world/mars-2020-rover-preview-scn/index.html. 
  24. Hoffman, Jeffrey A.; Hecht, Michael H.; Rapp, Donald; Hartvigsen, Joseph J.; SooHoo, Jason G.; Aboobaker, Asad M.; McClean, John B.; Liu, Andrew M. et al. (2022-09-02). "Mars Oxygen ISRU Experiment (MOXIE)—Preparing for human Mars exploration" (in en). Science Advances 8 (35): eabp8636. doi:10.1126/sciadv.abp8636. ISSN 2375-2548. PMID 36044563. Bibcode2022SciA....8P8636H. 
  25. "Breakthrough Prize – Winners Of The 2020 Breakthrough Prize In Life Sciences, Fundamental Physics And Mathematics Announced" (in en). 2020-09-05. https://breakthroughprize.org/News/54. 
  26. The Event Horizon Telescope Collaboration; Kazunori Akiyama; Antxon Alberdi; Walter Alef; Keiichi Asada; Rebecca Azulay; Anne-Kathrin Baczko; David Ball et al. (2019-04-10). "First M87 Event Horizon Telescope Results. IV. Imaging the Central Supermassive Black Hole" (in en). The Astrophysical Journal Letters 875 (1): L4. doi:10.3847/2041-8213/ab0e85. ISSN 2041-8205. Bibcode2019ApJ...875L...4E.