Charles Liu

Liu was born in Taipei, Taiwan to Fu-wen (Frank) Liu, a professor of pomology and horticulture,{{Cite web |url=https://www.amnh.org/learn-teach/seminars-on-science/about/faculty/charles-liu |title=Charles Liu, Course Author | AMNH }} and Jui-chi (Janice) Liu, a nurse of obstetrics and midwifery, both of Dahu Township, Miaoli County, Taiwan. He is the second of three children; his older sister, Grace, is a retired banker, and his younger brother, Henry, is a family physician. His family immigrated to the United States when Liu was four years old, and all of them were naturalized as U.S. citizens in 1980. He attended Harvard University, graduating with a bachelor’s degree in astronomy and astrophysics and physics, and the University of Arizona, graduating with a Ph.D. in astronomy. He then held postdoctoral positions at Kitt Peak National Observatory and Columbia, where he conducted research on galaxy evolution and the star formation history of the universe.

In 1998, Liu joined the scientific staff of the Hayden Planetarium at the American Museum of Natural History, where he helped design and develop the exhibitry and scientific content of the Rose Center for Earth and Space. During this time, with co-authors Neil deGrasse Tyson and Robert W. Irion, Liu wrote "One Universe: At Home In The Cosmos (2000)", for which Tyson, Irion, and Liu were awarded the 2001 Science Writing Award (scientist category) of the American Institute of Physics.{{Cite web|title=Charles Liu|url=https://www.worldsciencefestival.com/participants/charles_liu/|access-date=2021-01-23|website=World Science Festival|language=en-US}}

In 2003, Liu joined the faculty of the CUNY College of Staten Island (CSI). He was subsequently appointed to the consortial faculty of the physics doctoral program of the CUNY Graduate Center.{{Cite journal |last=City University of New York |date= |title=Head of the Class College of Staten Island |url=https://cuny.edu/wp-content/uploads/sites/4/media-assets/sts_spring2013.pdf |journal=Salute to Scholars |volume=Spring 2013 |page=24 }}{{Cite web|url=https://www.gc.cuny.edu/Page-Elements/News/2020/January/As-a-Writer-and-a-Teacher,-He-Invites-Us-to-Contemplate-the-Universe|title=As a Writer and a Teacher, He Invites Us to Contemplate the Universe |website=www.gc.cuny.edu }} In 2008, Liu became director of The Verrazzano School Honors Program at CSI. In 2012, he also became director of the William E. Macaulay Honors College at CSI. He served as director of both of those programs until 2018.{{Cite web |url=https://csitoday.com/2012/08/renowned-astrophysicist-and-csi-professor-named-director-of-two-of-csis-flagship-honors-programs/ |title=Renowned Astrophysicist and CSI Professor Named Director of Two of CSI's Flagship Honors Programs |first=Terry |last=Mares }}

In 2015, Liu was elected as Education Officer of the American Astronomical Society, serving also as a Councilor and Trustee of the Society until 2018.{{Cite web|url=https://aas.org/candidate-statement-charles-liu|title=Candidate Statement: Charles Liu | American Astronomical Society |website=aas.org }} He was elected as President of the Astronomical Society of New York in 2016,{{Cite web |title=Astronomical Society of New York |url=https://www.astrony.org/people |website=Astrony.org}} and was named a Legacy Fellow of the American Astronomical Society in 2020.{{Cite web |title=AAS Fellows |url=https://aas.org/grants-and-prizes/aas-fellows |website=American Astronomical Society}}

Liu was awarded the AAS Education Prize in 2024,{{Cite web |date=Feb 20, 2024 |title=Charles Liu Wins Prestigious AAS Education Prize |url=https://csitoday.com/2024/02/charles-liu-wins-prestigious-aas-education-prize/ |website=CSI Today}} which celebrated “his national and international impact as an enthusiastic astronomy educator throughout his career — including his contributions to informal education via his work at the American Museum of Natural History, his numerous popular science books, and his podcast ‘The LIUniverse’; as well as his contributions to formal education as a professor and mentor. The award also recognizes his service to the astronomy education community as AAS Education Officer and inaugural Chair of the AAS Education Committee.”{{Cite web |title=AAS Honors, Grants & Prizes |url=https://aas.org/honors-grants-and-prizes |website=American Astronomical Society}}

Liu is one of the original team members of the Cosmic Evolution Survey (COSMOS), the largest contiguous deep field ever observed with the Hubble Space Telescope. His work on that project has focused on faint, strongly star-forming galaxies. In 2015, he also joined the [https://arxiv.org/pdf/1508.04314 Mapping Nearby Galaxies at APO (MaNGA)] project of the Sloan Digital Sky Survey, where he has been studying galaxies whose star formation activity has been quenched within approximately the past one billion years.{{cite web |url=https://www1.cuny.edu/sites/matters/wp-content/uploads/sites/54/2018/02/2007-summer.pdf |title=CUNY Matters |date=2007 |website=Cuny.edu |access-date=2020-08-06 }}

Since 2016, Liu has served on the Vera C. Rubin Observatory Science Advisory Committee,{{Cite web |title=Welcome to the Science Advisory Committee for LSST {{!}} Rubin Observatory Science Advisory Committee |url=https://project.lsst.org/groups/sac/welcome |access-date=2024-10-03 |website=project.lsst.org}} where he is involved with galaxy evolution research.{{Cite journal |last1=Bianco |first1=Federica B. |last2=Ivezić |first2=Željko |last3=Jones |first3=R. Lynne |last4=Graham |first4=Melissa L. |last5=Marshall |first5=Phil |last6=Saha |first6=Abhijit |last7=Strauss |first7=Michael A. |last8=Yoachim |first8=Peter |last9=Ribeiro |first9=Tiago |last10=Anguita |first10=Timo |last11=Bauer |first11=A. E. |last12=Bauer |first12=Franz E. |last13=Bellm |first13=Eric C. |last14=Blum |first14=Robert D. |last15=Brandt |first15=William N. |date=2022-01-01 |title=Optimization of the Observing Cadence for the Rubin Observatory Legacy Survey of Space and Time: A Pioneering Process of Community-focused Experimental Design |journal=The Astrophysical Journal Supplement Series |volume=258 |issue=1 |pages=1 |doi=10.3847/1538-4365/ac3e72 |doi-access=free |arxiv=2108.01683 |bibcode=2022ApJS..258....1B |issn=0067-0049}}

Liu has been married to the mathematician and educator Dr. Amy Rabb-Liu since 1991. They have three children.

2000: [https://search.worldcat.org/title/42726152 One Universe: at Home in the Cosmos] (with Neil DeGrasse Tyson and Robert Irion){{Cite book |title=One universe: at home in the cosmos |publisher=Joseph Henry Press |year=2000 |isbn=978-0-309-06488-0 |editor-last=Tyson |editor-first=Neil deGrasse |location=Washington, D.C |editor-last2=Liu |editor-first2=Charles |editor-last3=Irion |editor-first3=Robert}}

2004: The Handy Astronomy Answer Book{{Cite book |last=Liu |first=Charles |title=The Handy Astronomy Answer Book |publisher=Visible Ink Press |year=2008 |isbn=978-1243466303 |edition=1st |series=The Handy Answer Book Series}}

2013: [https://www.visibleinkpress.com/t134/The-Handy-Astronomy-Answer-Book-Third-Edition The Handy Astronomy Answer Book, Third Edition]{{Cite book |last=Liu |first=Charles |url=https://www.visibleinkpress.com/t134/The-Handy-Astronomy-Answer-Book-Third-Edition |title=The Handy Astronomy Answer Book |publisher=Visible Ink Press |year=2013 |isbn=978-1578594191 |edition=3rd}}

2017: [https://search.worldcat.org/title/1028992672 StarTalk: everything you ever need to know about space travel, sci-fi, the human race, the universe, and beyond] (with Neil DeGrasse Tyson){{Cite book |title=Startalk: everything you ever need to know about space travel, sci-fi, the human race, the universe, and beyond |publisher=National Geographic |year=2017 |isbn=978-1-4263-3087-2 |editor-last=Tyson |editor-first=Neil deGrasse |edition=Young Readers |location=Washington, D.C |editor-last2=Liu |editor-first2=Charles |editor-last3=Simons |editor-first3=Jeffrey Lee}}

2019: [https://search.worldcat.org/title/1112383700 30-second universe: 50 most significant ideas, theories and events that sum up... everything] (with Karen Masters and Sevil Salur){{Cite book |last1=Liu |first1=Charles |title=30-second universe: 50 most significant ideas, theories and events that sum up... everything |last2=Masters |first2=Karen |last3=Salur |first3=Sevil |publisher=Ivy Press |year=2019 |isbn=9781782408505 |location=Brighton}}

2020: [https://search.worldcat.org/title/1236023747 The Handy Physics Answer Book]{{Cite book |last=Liu |first=Charles |title=The handy physics answer book |date=2021 |publisher=Visible Ink Press |isbn=978-1-57859-717-8 |edition=3rd |location=Detroit}}

2021: [https://search.worldcat.org/title/1233306569 30-Second Space Travel: 50 key ideas, inventions, and destinations that have inspired humanity toward the heavens] (with Karen Masters and Allen Liu){{Cite book |last1=Liu |first1=Charles |title=30-Second Space Travel: 50 key ideas, inventions, and destinations that have inspired humanity toward the heavens |last2=Masters |first2=Karen |last3=Liu |first3=Allen |date=2021 |publisher=Ivy Press |isbn=978-1782409786 |location=Brighton}}

2021: [https://search.worldcat.org/title/1287946096 Intro to Physics for Babies] {{Cite book |last=Liu |first=Charles |title=Intro to Physics for Babies |publisher=Rockridge Press |year=2021 |isbn=978-1647396855}}

2022: [https://search.worldcat.org/title/1292636152?oclcNum=1292636152 The Cosmos Explained: A history of the universe from its beginning to today and beyond]{{Cite book |last=Liu |first=Charles |url=https://www.quarto.com/books/9780711252745/the-cosmos-explained |title=The cosmos explained: a history of the universe from its beginning to today and beyond |date=2022-04-12 |publisher=Ivy Press |isbn=978-0-7112-5274-5 |location=London |language=en}}

2024: [https://www.visibleinkpress.com/t240/The-Handy-Quantum-Physics-Answer-Book The Handy Quantum Physics Answer Book]{{Cite book |last=Liu |first=Charles |title=The handy quantum physics answer book |publisher=Visible Ink |year=2024 |isbn=978-1578598052 |location=Canton, MI}}

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Category:Living people

Category:1968 births

Category:College of Staten Island faculty

Category:Harvard College alumni

Category:University of Arizona alumni