Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics

Founded in 1973, the Center for Astrophysics | Harvard Smithsonian is an ongoing collaboration between the Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory and Harvard College Observatory designed to foster innovation and propel discovery. Our mission is to advance knowledge of the Universe through research in astronomy and astrophysics and in related areas of fundamental physics and geophysics. We aim to accomplish this mission through adherence to the following values: Preeminence: Scientists, engineers, researchers, fellows, and students who collaborate with the Center for Astrophysics | Harvard Smithsonian are talented, accomplished leaders and experts in their fields, cultivating an atmosphere of continued excellence in pursuit of knowledge. Intellectual Freedom: Scientists, engineers, researchers, fellows, and students who collaborate with the CfA | Harvard Smithsonian have the ability to pursue and explore avenues of pure research across a breadth of scientific inquiry that’s unavailable elsewhere. Education: The CfA is a scholarly and academic launchpad for careers in the global astrophysics community, a springboard for generations of future explorers and scientists, and a repository for the basic human wonder that is the first spark of discoveries large and small. Shared Discovery: The CfA is an eager collaborator in the global astrophysics community, giving freely of data and discovery, and dedicated to serving the broader scientific mission of advancing humanity’s knowledge of the universe irrespective of institutional allegiance, political borders, or other qualifications. Scientific Breadth: At the CfA, scientists in a broad range of disciplines study the universe at every scale, from every wavelength, and using telescopes and instruments that span and orbit the globe, all with a single purpose: making groundbreaking discoveries that advance human knowledge.