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(in office 1976–1994)
Born in Leiden and educated in Utrecht, Dr Mart de Groot left the Netherlands in 1970 to work at the European Southern Observatory (ESO) in Chile where he was the Resident Astronomer and Aid to the Director, before taking up the position of Director at Armagh Observatory in 1976. His scientific interests lie mainly in massive and variable stars. He oversaw the bicentennial celebrations of Observatory’s founding as well as the expansion of staff from a handful of astronomers closer to its current size. During his tenure, the Observatory grounds were expanded and landscaped into the Astropark – a scale model of the Solar System and a logarithmic model of the Universe and a favourite for Armagh dog walkers! With changes at the end of the 20th century, he became the last Director to reside at the Observatory; the residence was turned into office space for astronomers while retaining the original architectural character.
