Dr. McDowell is an astrophysicist at the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics in Cambridge, MA, USA. He studies black holes, quasars and X-ray sources in galaxies, as well as developing data analysis software for the X-ray astronomy community. He currently leads the group which plans and tests the science analysis software for the Chandra space telescope. Dr. McDowell's scientific publications include studies of cosmology, black holes, merging galaxies, quasars, and asteroids. He also carries out research into the history of the space program and write an email-distributed newsletter, Jonathan's Space Report . You can see him chat with Neil Tyson at the WGBH Forum, and some TV here, and on some CfA items. Dr. McDowell has a B.A in Mathematics (1981) and a Ph.D in Astrophysics (1987) from the University of Cambridge, England. Minor planet (4589) McDowell is named after him.