Thomas Harold JARRETT

April 6, 1963 - July 1, 2024 Astronomer Tom Jarrett, Deputy Director of the NASA Infrared Telescope Facility in Hilo, HI, since March, 2024, died in Hilo on July 1. He was 61. His tragic passing comes as a great shock to his family, colleagues, and the astronomy community as a whole. According to Dr. John Rayner, the program's Director, "as a long-time user of IRTF, Tom was passionate about joining the staff in Hilo. He was particulary motivated by his new role of crafting a long-term strategic plan for the telescope. He loved Hawaii. Tom's infectious enthusiasm is a sad and untimely loss to his IRTF colleagues and the larger astronomical community."
Prior to his position at IRTF, Tom had completed a 12-year tenure as the South Africa Research Chair in Astrophysics and Space Science at the University of Cape Town.
As a young scientist, Tom had joined the Infrared Processing and Analysis Center (IPAC) in Pasadena in 1991. This launched his pioneering work as a NASA and JPL mission scientist at the California Institute of Technology, which spanned the disciplines of instrumentation, software design and development, ground and space-borne infrared surveys and missions, and scientific visualization. From assisting in the development of a near-infrared camera system for the Hale 200" Telescope at Palomar Observatory (his beloved "Big Eye"), to building mid-infrared photometry pipelines, he was singular in his focus and dedication.
In 1994 Tom joined the Two-Micron All Sky Survey (2MASS), charged with detecting, characterizing and cataloging extended sources in the near-infrared sky. And so began his lifelong passion for measuring and studying galaxies within the large-scale structure that forms our local universe Cosmic Web; this culminated in the creation of one of the most beautiful (and widely used!) images ever made in astronomy.
(https://wise2.ipac.caltech.edu/staff/jarrett/2mass/lss/XSCz_all_lsmooth.jpg)
The breadth of Tom's talents and research is reflected in his numerous collaborations and outputs, culminating in over 285 journal publications spanning diverse research topics, physical scales, and wavelengths. He held adjunct positions at Pomona College (notably teaching "Life in the Universe" for many years), Western Sydney University and Swinburne University of Technology. During his career, he supervised over 20 postgraduate students toward successful MSc and PhD completions, but he was known for his generosity with all students. He will also be remembered for his outstanding leadership of both the Digital Upgrade of the Iziko Planetarium project, and the development of Virtual Reality data visualization platforms as co-Director of the IDIA Visualisation Laboratory.
For more than a decade, Tom has been devoted to producing an extended source catalogue (XSC) for the WISE mid-infrared all-sky survey, measuring hundreds of thousands of galaxies with meticulous care and attention. His legacy will endure through this and his other work, but to those who knew and loved him, it will be his infectious enthusiasm and irrepressible grin that will never be forgotten.
https://wise2.ipac.caltech.edu/staff/jarrett/palomar_big_eye.jpg
Thomas Harold Jarrett was born on April 6, 1963, in Glendale. He spent his childhood in Whittier as well as Coeur d'Alene, Idaho, where he was valedictorian of his graduating class in 1981. His world had been electrified when, at the age of 17, he watched the PBS documentary series "Cosmos: A Personal Voyage" on television with his family, and astronomer Carl Sagan became his guiding star. He went on to complete a BA in Physics from Pomona College, and a PhD in Astrophysics at the University of Massachusetts.
Tom was a devoted father to his two daughters, whom he entertained with his quirky sense of humor and encouraged to think independently. In his last months, he whistled to the office, happy to devote his days to exploring the heavens. Tom is survived by his daughter Elizabeth Jarrett and her partner Oliver Palmer of Brooklyn, NY, daughter Estelle Jarrett of Manchester, CT, wife Rose Lynn Jarrett of Stamford, CT, sister Michelle Jarrett and brother-in-law Christopher Stapko of Gambrills, MD, his aunt and uncle Evelyn and Loren Filbeck of Mountain View, CA, and best friend and close colleague Dr. Michelle Cluver of Melbourne, Australia. Tom's parents were the late Geraldine Jarrett of Glendale, CA, and Thomas Jarrett of Huntington Beach, CA. Information regarding a memorial service will be provided at a future date. /.
In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to the Planetary Society (founded by Carl Sagan, among others), https://www.planetary.org, or to the International Planetarium Society, https://www.ips-planetarium.org/.