figure in this work. In 1957, Brück moved to the University of Edinburgh to be Astronomer Royal for Scotland. With his vision and drive, he transformed the Royal Observatory into an internationally ranked centre of research. He put together a team of astronomers and engineers headed initially by P.B. Fellgett, and later by Vincent Reddish. This team created the automated instrumentation for scanning stellar and intergalactic images. This technology enabled spectra to be reduced in minutes rather than months, which gave astronomers time to focus on other activities. The team also advanced the technology for the remote operation of telescopes. In addition to his scientific duties, he expanded the teaching of astronomy with a new honours degree in Astrophysics initiated in 1967. Upon first arriving in Edinburgh, he had started the student astronomical society and gave it access to the Observatory. For a period, Brück served as Dean of the Faculty of Science. Brück retired in 1975. At this time, his second wife and colleague, Dr. Mary T. Conway, initiated an historical study of nineteenth century astronomy, which resulted in the publication of a book on Charles Piazzi Smyth, one of Brück's predecessors. Their work resulted in a book on the history of Edinburgh Astronomy, and a paper in Vistas in Astronomy on Lord Crawford's Observatory in Dunecht, which was the parent to the nineteenth century rebirth of the Royal Observatory in Edinburgh. Throughout his career, Brück served as a member and councillor of the Pontifical Academy of Sciences. He died at home in Penicuik. Honors Knight Grand Cross of St. Gregory 1948 – Member Royal Irish Academy 1955 – Member of the Akadmie der Wissenschaften und der Literatur, Mainz 1958 – Member of the Royal Society of Edinburgh, in which he also served on the Council from 1959 to 1962 1966 – Commander (CBE), Order of the British Empire Books Die Sterne: Monatsschrift für alle Gebiete der Himmelskunde (Johann Ambrosius Barth Vlg., Leipzig, 1933) The Story of Astronomy in Edinburgh from its beginning until 1975 (Edinburgh University Press, 1983) (with Mary T. Brück) Peripatetic Astronomer, The: Life of Charles Piazzi Smyth (Institute of Physics Publishing, Bristol, United Kingdom, 1988) References 1905 births 2000 deaths Academics of the Dublin Institute for Advanced Studies Academics of the University of Edinburgh 20th-century British astronomers 20th-century British physicists Commanders of the Order of the British Empire Converts to Roman Catholicism Directors of Dunsink