Even before its formal dedication in 1980, the VLA had become an invaluable research tool. Today, it is the most powerful, flexible and widely-used radio telescope in the world. More than 2,200 researchers from around the world have used the VLA for more than 10,000 different observing projects. The VLA has had a major impact on nearly every branch of astronomy, and the results of its research are abundant in the pages of scientific journals and textbooks. More than 200 Ph.D. degrees have been awarded on the basis of research done with the VLA.

Below we list a few of the highlights of VLA research over the past two decades. This list, while far from complete, illustrates the breadth of research done on the VLA as well as the impact the VLA has had on numerous areas of astronomy.

• A Surprising, Icy Discovery on Mercury, the closest planet to the Sun
  
  
• VLA Transforms Stellar Radio Astronomy
  
  
• A New Type of Astronomical Object: "Microquasars" in Our Own Galaxy
  
  
• Revealing the Shrouded Center of the Milky Way
  
  
• VLA Reveals Vital Details of Superfast Cosmic Jets
  
  
• Discovering the First "Einstein Ring" Gravitational Lens
  
  
• Unraveling the Mysteries of Gamma Ray Bursts