Jason Steffen

{{Short description|American astrophysicist (born 1975)}}

{{Infobox scientist

| honorific_prefix =

| name = Jason Steffen

| honorific_suffix =

| native_name =

| native_name_lang =

| image =

| image_size =

| image_upright =

| alt =

| caption =

| birth_name = Jason Hyrum Steffen

| birth_date = {{birth date and age|1975|05|15}}{{cite thesis |last=Steffen |first=Jason |date=2006 |title=Detecting New Planets in Transiting Systems |type=Ph.D. |publisher=University of Washington |page=107 |arxiv=astro-ph/0609492 }}

| birth_place = Fairfield, California

| death_date =

| death_place =

| death_cause =

| resting_place =

| resting_place_coordinates =

| other_names =

| fields = Astrophysics

| workplaces = University of Nevada, Las Vegas

| patrons =

| education = Weber State University
University of Washington

| alma_mater =

| thesis_title = Detecting new planets in transiting systems

| thesis_url = https://arxiv.org/abs/astro-ph/0609492

| thesis_year = 2006

| doctoral_advisor =Eric Agol

| academic_advisors =

| doctoral_students =

| notable_students =

| known_for = Research on exoplanets

| influences =

| influenced =

| awards = Fermilab Technology Award (2013){{cite web |title=Jason Steffen CV |url=http://www.physics.unlv.edu/~jsteffen/docs/cvsteffen.pdf |website=University of Nevada, Las Vegas |access-date=4 February 2019}}

| author_abbrev_bot =

| author_abbrev_zoo =

| spouse =

| partner =

| children =

| signature =

| signature_alt =

| website =

| footnotes =

}}

Jason Hyrum Steffen (born May 15, 1975) is an American astrophysicist and assistant professor of physics and astronomy at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas (UNLV). He is also a member of the science team for NASA's Kepler space telescope mission. He worked at Fermilab and Northwestern University for a decade before joining the UNLV faculty. He is known for his work on the discoveries of several exoplanets.{{cite web |title=Jason Steffen |url=https://www.unlv.edu/people/jason-steffen |website=University of Nevada, Las Vegas |date=26 August 2015 |access-date=4 February 2019}}{{cite news |last1=Choi |first1=Charles Q. |title=In Alien Solar Systems, Twin Planets Could Share Life |url=https://www.space.com/31297-alien-planets-could-share-life.html |access-date=4 February 2019 |work=Space.com |date=7 December 2015}}{{cite news |last1=Bauman |first1=Joe |title=Dramatic results may come from new planet-finder |url=https://www.petoskeynews.com/des_sci/dramatic-results-may-come-from-new-planet-finder/article_f0ea1999-ab7e-56af-8295-c11b6ee20d44.html |access-date=4 February 2019 |work=Petoskey News-Review |date=28 August 2018 |language=en}} He has also developed an alternative method for boarding passengers onto commercial aircraft, known as the Steffen Boarding Method. It has been found to be significantly faster than the "back-to-front" method used by most commercial airlines.{{cite news |last1=Stromberg |first1=Joseph |title=The way we board airplanes makes no sense |url=https://www.vox.com/2014/4/25/5647696/the-way-we-board-airplanes-makes-absolutely-no-sense |access-date=4 February 2019 |work=Vox |date=25 April 2014}}{{cite magazine |last1=Stockton |first1=Nick |title=What's Up With That: Boarding Airplanes Takes Forever |url=https://www.wired.com/2014/11/whats-boarding-airplanes-takes-forever/ |access-date=4 February 2019 |magazine=Wired |date=4 November 2014}} He was inspired to begin research on the topic after waiting in an exceptionally long line to board a plane at an airport.{{cite news |title=Please be seated |url=https://www.economist.com/science-and-technology/2011/09/03/please-be-seated |access-date=4 February 2019 |newspaper=The Economist |date=3 September 2011}}