Paul L. Schechter

Schechter's many contributions to galactic structure and cosmology led to membership in the NAS. The Schechter Luminosity Function is still basic to studies of galactic distribution, and is the starting point of most studies of the luminosity distribution of extragalactic objects. The more difficult problem of mass distribution in the universe as a whole was addressed by the Press-Schechter relation, still regarded as a penetrating study of the structure of the universe. His recent work has centered on the phenomenology of gravitational lensing and observational studies of both large-scale lensing and microlensing.