faculty+staff

education

• Ph.D., Astronomy, Harvard University
• B.S., Electronic Physics, St. Joseph's College

teaching interests

Dr. Chromey served as assistant professor of physics at Brooklyn College (CUNY) before joining the Vassar Faculty in 1981. He became Director of the College Observatory in 1990, and oversaw the construction of the new Class of '51 Observatory Building, which began full-scale operations in 1998. Although he teaches all parts of the astronomy curriculum, he particularly enjoys teaching to non-scientists, as well as teaching observational techniques, planetary physics and observational cosmology.

research interests

Shortly before his sixth birthday, Fred Chromey decided he loved astronomy. Despite serious attractions to paleontology and the musical theatre, he remained faithful to this first love and went on to earn a B.S. in electronic physics from St. Joseph's College and a Ph.D. in astronomy from Harvard University. He worked briefly at the Goddard Space Flight Center (NASA), and has held visiting positions at Kitt Peak National Observatory, and a number of other astronomy centers. His research interests are in observational astronomy, particularly in relation to the structure and history of nearby galaxies. His most recent publications, all of which include student co-authors, have been on based on near-infrared and space telescope observations of starburst galaxies.