MIT Kavli Institute Directory

Professor Canizares is Vice President and the Bruno Rossi Professor of Physics at MIT.  He has responsibility for MIT’s major international partnerships and oversees the MIT Lincoln Laboratory.

Professor Canizares earned his BA, MA and Ph.D. in physics from Harvard University.  He came to MIT as a postdoctoral fellow in 1971 and joined the faculty in 1974. He has served as Director of the Center for Space Research (1990-2001), Associate Provost (2001-2006), and most recently as Vice President for Research & Associate Provost (2006-2013).  Professor Canizares is a principal investigator on NASA's Chandra X-ray Observatory. He has also worked on several other space astronomy missions and is author or co-author of more than 230 scientific papers.

Professor Canizares’ service outside MIT includes the Department of Commerce’s National Advisory Council on Innovation and Entrepreneurship and the Emerging Technology and Research Advisory Committee and the National Research Council’s (NRC) Committee on Science, Technology and the Law.  He served as chair of the NRC’s Space Studies Board and was a member of the NASA Advisory Council and the Air Force Scientific Advisory Board, among others.  He is also a member of the L-3 Communications, Inc. Board of Directors.  Professor Canizares is a member of the National Academy of Sciences and the International Academy of Astronautics and is a fellow of the American Academy of Arts & Sciences, the American Physical Society, and the American Association for the Advancement of Science.  He has also received several awards including decoration for Meritorious Civilian Service to the United States Air Force, and two NASA Public Service Medals