Garret Fitzpatrick
Garret Fitzpatrick is a Project Engineer at the Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory who is leading the engineering effort to design and build new radio telescopes to expand an Earth-sized virtual telescope array, called the Event Horizon Telescope, that produced the first image of a black hole in April of 2019. Garret previously led the product development teams at Shell TechWorks, an innovation center for Shell that uses systems and design thinking to develop and deploy new technologies throughout Shell's businesses. Prior to that, Garret served as a systems engineer at two different NASA field centers, leading teams to develop new cell biology payloads for the International Space Station and managing crew survival systems for the Space Shuttle program. He is also a science and travel writer and hopes to one day finish a book about his overland travels across Asia. Garret lives in Massachusetts with his wife and three sons.
About Garret's Cosmic Creations
In addition to my role as an engineer, I'm a science and travel writer. I'm inspired by people who have the courage to step into the unknown, along many fronts. All of these areas, to me, combine in the endeavor of exploration. As an engineer, I build the instruments that help us explore the universe. As a science writer, I tell the stories of people who are exploring fundamental questions. And as a traveler, I explore to push myself -- both to physical destinations and to discover myself more fully. I haven't yet done much writing for the CfA, but hope to soon!