The Giant Magellan Telescope (GMT) is a 25-meter optical/near-infrared telescope to be located at Las Campanas, Chile. The GMT primary mirror is comprised of seven borosilicate 8.4-meter segments, and the secondary contains seven (~1-meter) fast-steering segments aligned to each of the primary mirrors. The first of the primary mirrors has been cast at the Steward Observatory Mirror Laboratory, and it is currently undergoing polishing and testing. Several instrument concepts have been developed covering the wavelength range from the UV/optical to the thermal infrared. The project is in a detailed Design Development Phase. The Science Working Group has identified several areas where the GMT will have an impact. These include: 1) the nature of dark matter and dark energy, 2) the first stars and galaxies, 3) star and planet formation, 4) the evolution of galaxies, and 5) the growth of black holes. Unique capabilities of the GMT include wide-field (~10-arcminute FOV) spectroscopy and the direct detection of exoplanets. The GMT is a consortium of research institutions consisting of Australia Astronomy Limited, the Australian National University, the Carnegie Institution of Washington, Harvard University, Korea Astronomy and Space Sciences Institute, Texas A&M University, Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory, the University of Arizona, and the University of Texas at Austin.

Argonne Physics Division Colloquium Schedule