Bob Joseph is an Astronomer in the Institute for Astronomy (IfA), UH Manoa. He has been at UH 18 years. Before coming to Hawaii he was Reader in Astrophysics at Imperial College, University of London, where he was on the faculty for almost 20 years. He served as Director of the NASA Infrared Telescope Facility on Mauna Kea for the years 1989-2000, and was recently awarded the NASA Public Service Medal "for outstanding leadership while serving as Director." The International Astronomical Union has named Asteroid 7159 "Bobjoseph." He was IfA Faculty Chair from 2002-2005.

Joseph received his B.A. degree from Greenvillle College (IL), M.A. from Vanderbilt University (TN), and Ph.D in physics from Washington University (MO).

Joseph's research interests are in extragalactic astronomy. He chiefly uses infrared light (wavelengths between visible light and radio waves). One of his major research interests over the past 25 years is the effects of collisions between galaxies. One result of such collisions is the formation of a new generation of stars, including those that are very massive and burn themselves out in a few million years (very quickly compared to the lifetimes of most stars). These massive stars are extremely luminous and therefore the galaxy lights up when such a burst of star formation occurs. Joseph and collaborators were the first to argue that mergers of spirals produce the most luminous infrared-bright galaxies and that the luminosity is powered by a massive burst of star formation. He has been a pioneer in developing extragalactic infrared spectroscopy. Using such diagnostic tools he and his collaborators have shown that such violent bursts of star formation seem not to produce as many low-mass, solar-type stars, or as many very massive stars as are produced in the more quiescent star formation processes occurring in the solar neighborhood. Another consequence of collisions between spiral galaxies is that they can merge and coalesce into a single new object, and he and his collaborators have shown such mergers of spiral galaxies are producing elliptical galaxies.

Courses lectured at the University of Hawaii in recent years have included the general education survey of astronomy, the graduate course in cosmology, and a graduate seminar on starbursts in galaxies. Joseph is also a volunteer at the women's prison where he gives a year-long course on astronomy. Joseph and colleague Dr. Toni Cowie have developed a new upper division course, "The Cosmos in Western Culture," which was offered for the first time in the spring term 2007.

Joseph has had 15 graduate students complete Ph.D. degrees under his supervision. Most are in academic or research positions in the U.S. and the U.K.