Giant Magellan Telescope

Thanks to a generous contribution from George P. Mitchell ‘40 in 2004, Texas A&M was named a founding partner in the Giant Magellan Telescope. The GMT, to be constructed in northern Chile, will be the largest telescope on earth and produce images up to ten times clearer than the Hubble Space Telescope.

In 2011, Mr. Mitchell and the Mitchell Foundation committed a landmark gift of $25 million to the project, $12.5 million of which will be pledged on behalf of Texas A&M. This gift brings Mitchell’s total commitment to the GMT project on behalf of the university to over $21 million, furthering his goal to keep TAMU Physics and Astronomy on the forefront of scientific innovation and discovery.

In 2015, the Texas A&M University System Board of Regents continued Mitchell’s legacy by reaffirming Texas A&M University’s support for GMT and pledging to fund Texas A&M’s participation in the project as a significant partner.

In addition, the Astronomical Instrumentation Lab designed a first-light instrument GMACS and assembled and tested actuators for the primary mirror test cell.

More information about the Giant Magellan Telescope can be found at the GMT Website as well as in our Publications and Press sections.