"In 1959 the University recognized our work by appointing me to a new Chair of Radio Astronomy"

Martin Ryle was a British radio astronomer who was selected to a new Chair of Radio Astronomy at the University of Cambridge in 1959. This appointment was an acknowledgment of the work he had actually carried out in the field of radio astronomy. Ryle was a leader in the field, and his work helped to advance the understanding of deep space. He was the first to use interferometry to determine the positions of radio sources, and he established the aperture synthesis method which allowed for the mapping of radio sources. His work also helped to establish the field of radio astronomy as a genuine scientific discipline. Ryle's appointment to the Chair of Radio Astronomy was a testimony to his contributions to the field, and it was a recognition of the importance of his work.