“Negotiating different cultures between academic and research is never simple,” Narayanamurti said.

Alcock says he is aware of the historical tensions he will be confronting at the nexus of the Smithsonian and Harvard.

“They’re both powerful organizations with quite distinct cultures, and they don’t get always get along perfectly,” he said, “although in history people have tended to get along more often than not.”

Despite its history of bickering, Faculty of Arts and Sciences administrators described the process which led to Alcock’s selection as consensual and thorough, and there is a sense that the two groups want to see resolutions to problems with joint appointments.

“[The search] was a real example of cooperation between the Smithsonian and Harvard and we are both delighted with the outcome,” Dean of the Faculty William C. Kirby wrote in an e-mail yesterday.

A selection committee that included high-profile administrators from both Harvard and the Smithsonian launched an international search for the position just over a year ago.

The committee whittled down the list of candidates to three, leaving the ultimate decision to University President Lawrence H. Summers and Lawrence Small, secretary of the Smithsonian.

Hernquist, who has crossed paths with Alcock several times in their scientific careers but was not part of the search committee, said the appointment was good news for the department.

“Alcock was a good choice because he’s not somebody who’s well-known here,” Hernquist said. “He can get his job done without worrying about past history.”

Apart from the University of Pennsylvania, Alcock has previously held positions at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, where he led the University Collaborative Research Project, and the Institute for Advanced Study in Princeton, N.J.

He was elected to the National Academy of Sciences in 2001 and was awarded the American Astronomical Society’s Beatrice M. Tinsley award in 2000.

Alcock said he is confident about his prospects.

“I see my job as a mission to make it possible for people to achieve their dreams and do science in a nurturing, intellectually sound place,” he said.

He will move into his CfA offices at 60 Garden St. this July.

—Staff writer Rebecca D. O’Brien can be reached at robrien@fas.harvard.edu.>