Ed Krupp

In 2014 Griffith Observatory had its 80th anniversary and Krupp his 40th as observatory director. At that time, John Ashton of Sunseeker Tours in Long Beach noted, "It's an L.A. treasure. We get more requests to see this than anything." And, then LA City Councilman Tom LaBonge (whose district included the observatory) observed:

On November 22, 2013 Krupp was presented with the Andrew Gemant Award at a session of the Los Angeles city council, the award citation indicated that Krupp was being recognized for:

Krupp has traveled around the world for his archaeoastronomy studies. These trips have also taken him to sites close to home such as the Burro Flats pictograph site in the Simi Hills of Southern California, which he first visited in 1979. Over the years, Krupp has made semi-regular trips to that site to conduct solstice observations.

As early as 1978 Krupp was aware that the observatory would need a future restoration and that there was a need to update equipment and exhibits. So he and Harold and Debra Griffith co-founded the Friends of the Observatory (FOTO). FOTO aids the mission of the observatory in many ways. FOTO partnered with the city to renovate and expand the observatory raising US$30 million for the effort ($26 million in private funds). The observatory closed its doors in 2002 for the $93 Million dollar renovation and expansion. The entire project was spearheaded by Krupp, and the observatory reopened in the fall of 2006.

Krupp was appointed Observatory Curator in 1972 upon completion of his PhD. In 1974 the director of Griffith Observatory, William J. Kaufmann III, left, and Krupp was appointed acting director. In 1976 Krupp's title was changed from "acting" director to director.

Krupp pursued graduate studies in astronomy at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA), receiving a Master of Arts degree in 1968 and PhD in 1972. His Ph.D. dissertation concerned the morphology of rich clusters of galaxies. His graduate adviser was George O. Abell.

Krupp married Robin Rector on New Year's Eve of 1968. They had one son and divorced in 2006. Krupp now resides in the Eagle Rock neighborhood of Los Angeles, California.

Krupp studied physics and astronomy at Pomona College (the founding member of the Claremont Colleges consortium) in Claremont, California. His undergraduate advisor was Robert J. Chambers. While studying at Pomona College, Krupp participated in cross-country, track, and soccer. He also worked at KSPC, the Pomona College non-commercial community radio station. He lived for two years at the Brackett Observatory, during this time he served as caretaker of the observatory, weatherman, and telescope demonstrator. He received a Bachelor of Arts degree in 1966.

In 1961 Krupp attended the Summer Science Program (SSP). Among other things, SSP teaches astronomy to high school students. Krupp has remained active with SSP, first as a graduate student teaching assistant from 1968 to 1972 and later as a frequent guest lecturer. Krupp has said of SSP,

Edwin Charles Krupp (born November 18, 1944) is an American astronomer, researcher, author, and popularizer of science. He is an internationally recognized expert in the field of archaeoastronomy, the study of how ancient cultures viewed the sky and how those views affected their cultures. He has taught at the college level, as a planetarium lecturer, and in various documentary films. He has been the director of the Griffith Observatory in Los Angeles since first taking over the position in 1974 after the departure of the previous director, William J. Kaufmann III. His writings include science papers and journal articles, astronomy magazine articles, books on astronomy and archaeoastronomy for adults, and books explaining sky phenomena and astronomy to children.

Edwin Charles Krupp was born in Chicago, Illinois, on November 18, 1944 where as a child his parents took him to many of the local museums. In 1956 the family moved to Los Angeles where Krupp's father, a mechanical engineer, worked on the Apollo program and then on the Space Shuttle.