 He was born in Merida, Yucatan, in 1930. He studied Mathematics and Theoretical Physics at the Facultad de Ciencias [Faculty of Sciences] of the Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México (UNAM) [National Autonomous University of Mexico], and finished at the University of California at Berkeley, where he concluded his PhD in Astronomy. He worked at the Observatorio de Tacubaya [Tacubaya Observatory] and later at the Leuschner Observatory of the University of California. He is a researcher at the Instituto de Astronomía [Institute of Astronomy] at the Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México (UNAM) [National Autonomous University of Mexico], and has also been a visiting researcher at the Institut d'Astrophysique de Paris, at Columbia University in New York, at the Kitt Peak National Observatory in Tucson, and the Center for Astrophysics and Space Science in San Diego. He has been a professor at the Facultad de Ciencias [Faculty of Sciences] of the Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México (UNAM) [National Autonomous University of Mexico], and guest professor at the universities of Nebraska and New York.
Some of his papers on the dynamics of stellar systems and of galaxies have already become classics in the literature of astronomy. Not withstanding his theoretical vocation, he has been a driving force behind the growth of instrumental and observational astronomy in the country. The existence of the Observatorio Astronómico Nacional [National Astronomical Observatory] in the Sierra of San Pedro Martir, BC, is a direct result of these efforts. One of the first fields in which he worked was that of galaxies, where he developed a method to determine the mass of ellipsoidal and spherical individual galaxies, masses that, until then, were unknown. Internationally, this method is known as the “Poveda Method." Other significant contributions are related to his studies of supernovas and of double and multiple stars.
At the Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México (UNAM) [National Autonomous University of Mexico], he was director of the Instituto de Astronomía [Institute of Astronomy], coordinador de la Investigación Científica [coordinator of Scientific Research], founder and first director of the Centro Internacional de Física y Matemáticas Aplicadas [International Center of Applied Physics and Mathematics] in Cuernavaca, and of the Programa Universitario de Investigación y Desarrollo Espacial [University Program for Space Research and Development]. He also belonged to the Governing Board. Founder of the Institute of Astronomy in Ensenada. He was a member of Conacyt’s Advising Council and of the governing body of the Instituto Nacional de Astrofísica, Óptica y Electrónica [National Institute of Astrophysics, Optics and Electronics] in Tonantzintla, Puebla, and of the Centro de Investigaciones en Óptica [Center for Optics Research] in Leon, Guanajuato. He is a member of the Consejo Consultivo de Ciencias de la Presidencia de la República (CCC) [Science Consulting Council of the President’s Office], a founding member of the Academia Mexicana de las Ciencias [Mexican Academy of Sciences]; of the International Astronomical Union; of the American Astronomical Society (of which he was a board member); of the Royal Astronomical Society and of the New York Academy of Sciences.
He has received the Dorothea Klumpke Award of the University of California; the Premio Academia de la Investigación Científica [Academy of Scientific Research Prize]; the Premio Nacional de Ciencias y Artes [National Award for Science and Arts]; the Medalla Eligio Ancona del Gobierno de Yucatán [Eligio Ancona Medal of the Government of Yucatan]; the Medalla Luis G. Lion de la Sociedad Astronómica Mexicana [Luis G. Lion Medal of the Astronomical Society of Mexico]; he is a member of El Colegio Nacional [The National College] and was recognized as National Researcher Emeritus of the Sistema Nacional de Investigadores (SNI) [National Researcher System] and of the Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México (UNAM) [National Autonomous University of Mexico]. He has also received Honoris Causa Doctorates from the Instituto Nacional de Astronomía, Óptica y Electrónica (INAOE) [National Institute of Astronomy, Optics and Electronics]; from the Centro de Investigaciónes en Óptica [Center for Research in Optics]; from the
Universidad de Yucatán [University of Yucatan]; and from the Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México (UNAM) [National Autonomous University of Mexico].
He has authored over 70 original research scientific papers published in international refereed journals and books. |
Counselors 
He was born in Merida, Yucatan, in 1930. He studied Mathematics and Theoretical Physics at the Facultad de Ciencias [Faculty of Sciences] of the Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México (UNAM) [National Autonomous University of Mexico], and finished at the University of California at Berkeley, where he concluded his PhD in Astronomy. He worked at the Observatorio de Tacubaya [Tacubaya Observatory] and later at the Leuschner Observatory of the University of California. He is a researcher at the Instituto de Astronomía [Institute of Astronomy] at the Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México (UNAM) [National Autonomous University of Mexico], and has also been a visiting researcher at the Institut d'Astrophysique de Paris, at Columbia University in New York, at the Kitt Peak National Observatory in Tucson, and the Center for Astrophysics and Space Science in San Diego. He has been a professor at the Facultad de Ciencias [Faculty of Sciences] of the Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México (UNAM) [National Autonomous University of Mexico], and guest professor at the universities of Nebraska and New York.