Ian Morison

Ian Morison FRAS (born 22 November 1943) is an astronomer and astrophysicist who served as the 35th Gresham Professor of Astronomy.

Morison was born in Felpham, England. He attended Chichester High School before going on to study Physics, Mathematics and Astronomy at Hertford College, University of Oxford. He lives in Macclesfield, England with his wife Judy.

Jodrell Bank Centre for Astrophysics

Morison joined the University of Manchester's Jodrell Bank Observatory as a research student in 1965 before becoming a staff member in 1970. Initially working on data acquisition systems for the observatory's own instruments including the Lovell and Mk II radio telescopes, he went on to play a key role in the development of MERLIN, an array of radio telescopes with a resolution in the radio spectrum comparable to that of the Hubble Space Telescope in the optical.

Gresham College

On 1 August 2007 Morison was appointed as the 35th Gresham Professor of Astronomy, a position previously held by Christopher Wren. He followed John D. Barrow and preceded Carolin Crawford. In this role he delivered a series of 25 public lectures on astronomy and astrophysics. The four-year period of Gresham Professorship came to an end in August 2011.

Association with Astronomical Societies

Morison is a founding member and now patron of Macclesfield Astronomical Society. He is a council member and former president of the Society for Popular Astronomy and patron of Ewell Astronomical Society.

Asteroid

Main belt asteroid 15727 Ianmorison was named after Morison.