Nino Panagia - 10/24/43 - 1/25/25

Professor Nino Panagia was born and grew up in Rome, Italy and graduated from the University of Rome in 1966 with a doctorate in Physics. In the late 60s and 70s he held positions at the Institute for Space Astrophysics in Frascati, Italy and the Institute of Radio Astronomy in Bologna. In the late 70s, he visited the U.S. for a year to work with Dr. Yervant Terzian at Cornell University -- and decided he wanted to work and live in the U.S. In the 1980s, as an employee of the European Space Agency, he was invited by Prof. Riccardo Giacconi to join the newly established Space Telescope Science Institute (Baltimore, MD), which was responsible for the science mission of the Hubble Space Telescope.

Prof. Panagia was well known for his intense, active, and long research life, publishing more than 300 peer reviewed journal articles over almost 60 years and lecturing around the world on a variety of topics in astronomy, including supernovae, massive stars, the interstellar medium, and star formation. He was well known for his work in theoretical physics, as well as his involvement with observational astronomy in supernova studies. Later in life, he was named one of the first Emeritus Astronomers at the Space Telescope Science Institute. He also won the prestigious Gruber Prize in Cosmology in 2007 for his role in determining the expansion rate of the Universe. And, finally, he was a collaborator on the team of Dr. Perlmutter, awarded a Nobel Prize in Physics in 2011 for their discovery of dark energy.

At home, Nino was the father of two beloved children, Anna and Giancarlo (now deceased) from Parma, Italy.  Nino had a reputation of being a wonderful cook and adapting his mother's Southern Italian recipes for friends and family alike.

After settling in Baltimore, MD in the 1980s, Nino was known by neighbors as an avid walker and could often be seen walking to the office in his impeccable suits. He was a lover of classical Baroque music, gardening, home-made Italian food, and his extensive necktie collection, for which he was well known at the office.

His long-time companion, Diana Schulin, often accompanied him on his travels and they especially enjoyed spending time together in the British Virgin Islands. Nino was well loved and will always be remembered by his colleagues, friends and family.

A memorial service will be held later this spring at the Space Telescope Science Institute in his honor.  (Contact: dschulin@gmail.com)

Un affetto familiare manifestato con biglietti d'auguri, telefonate, email, brevi visite tutti gli anni: fino ai tuoi 75 ti sei imbarcato per vederci. Noi sapevamo di essere nei tuoi pensieri e sapevamo di poter contare sui tuoi consigli.
Sognatore fin da ragazzino, quando ti sentivi poeta, ispirato dall'amore acerbo per nostra madre.
La tua principessa ti ritroverà sempre guardando le tue amate stelle.

Anna Panagia