Keivan Stassun
{{Short description|American astronomer (born 1972)}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=May 2020}}
{{Infobox scientist
| name = Keivan Guadalupe Stassun
| image = KStassun (cropped).jpg
| caption = Stassun pictured in 2024
| birth_date = July 1972
| birth_place =
| death_date =
| death_place =
| nationality = American
| field = Astrophysics
| work_institution = Vanderbilt University
Fisk University
| alma_mater = University of California, Berkeley (A.B.)
University of Wisconsin, Madison (PhD)
| known_for =
| awards = MacArthur Fellowship
National Medal of Science
| doctoral_advisor = Bob Mathieu
| doctoral_students =
| societies =
| prizes =
| religion =
| footnotes =
}}
Keivan Guadalupe Stassun (born July 1972) is an American physicist and astronomer in the field of exoplanets. He is a physics professor at Vanderbilt University and an adjunct professor at Fisk University, institutions at which he oversees and co-directs the Fisk-Vanderbilt Masters-to-Ph.D Bridge Program.{{Cite web|url=https://mlkscholars.mit.edu/kguadalupe-stassun/|title=Keivan Guadalupe-Stassun, Physics |website=MLK Jr. Visiting Professors and Scholars Program|publisher=MIT|language=en-US|access-date=2020-02-07}}{{Cite web|url=https://aas.org/posts/news/2018/02/vanderbilts-keivan-stassun-wins-2018-aaas-mentor-award|first=Richard|last=Fienberg|date=16 February 2018|title=Vanderbilt's Keivan Stassun Wins 2018 AAAS Mentor Award |publisher=American Astronomical Society|website=aas.org|access-date=2020-02-07}} Stassun has been an activist promoting the integration of underrepresented groups in the fields of STEM, especially math and science through research, outreach and teaching.{{Cite web|url=https://www.aps.org/careers/physicists/profiles/stassun.cfm|title=Keivan Stassun|website=www.aps.org|language=en|access-date=2020-02-07}}
Family life and education
Stassun was born to a Mexican mother and an Iranian father who left when he was an infant. He lived in Venice, CA until age seven, when his mother and stepfather married and moved to the San Fernando Valley where he grew up.{{citation needed|date=March 2020}}
He was identified as "high IQ" and was recommended for a gifted magnet program: Sherman Oaks Center for Enriched Studies, where he went for both middle and high school. During his high school years he participated in a number of activities in the fine arts, sports, speech and debate, and newspapers and yearbook, all while graduating second in his class.{{citation needed|date=March 2020}}
He first attended the Naval Academy for a year, undergoing basic training on Treasure Island, but gave it up. He then attended University of California, Berkeley as a Chancellor Scholar where he studied astronomy under the tutelage of Gibor Basri.{{citation needed|date=March 2020}}
After Berkeley, he moved on to the University of Wisconsin to do his graduate work under the guidance of Bob Mathieu.{{Cite journal|last=Stassun|first=Keivan Guadalupe|date=July 2000|title=The Connection Between Rotation, Circumstellar Disks, and Accretion Among Low-Mass Pre-Main-Sequence Stars|journal=PHDT|language=en|bibcode=2000PhDT.........9S}} At Wisconsin, his ideas about the importance of combining scholarly practices in research, teaching, and outreach began to crystallize. In addition to carrying out his thesis research, he also became active in math/science education for minorities in the local schools, and he developed an astronomy outreach program (Scopes for Schools) which provides teachers with resources and training for teaching astronomy.{{Cite web|url=https://www.uwalumni.com/alumninote/uw-alums-passion-for-minority-representation-in-stem-fields-led-to-an-astronomy-outreach-program-for-underserved-students-keivan-stassun/|title=UW alumnus develops astronomy outreach program for underserved students: Keivan Stassun|website=Wisconsin Alumni Association|language=en-US|access-date=2020-02-07}}
Currently, Stassun serves as chair in the exoplanet science team of the Vanderbilt Initiative in Data-intensive Astrophysics (VIDA), which he helped found. The VIDA is a big data-enabling pilot-program from major astronomical surveys.{{Cite web|url=https://nsf.gov/od/oia/activities/ceose/Biographies/stassun.jsp|title=CEOSE - Member Biography: Dr. Keivan Guadalupe Stassun |publisher=National Science Foundation|website=nsf.gov|access-date=2020-02-07}}
He currently lives in Nashville, Tennessee with his wife and 2 sons
Awards and recognition
- 2004 – National Science Foundation CAREER Award
- 2006 – Cottrell Scholar Award from Research Corporation{{Cite web|url=https://rescorp.org/news/2012/06/cottrell-scholar-keivan-stassun-changes-the-face-of-u.s.-science|title=Cottrell Scholar Keivan Stassun Changes the Face of U.S. Science|last=Advancement|first=Research Corporation for Science|website=Research Corporation for Science Advancement|date=25 June 2012 |language=en|access-date=2020-02-12}}
- 2007 – Ford Foundation Fellow
- 2014 – Presidential Award for Excellence in Science, Mathematics and Engineering Mentoring (PAESMEM){{cite web|url=https://paesmem.nsf.gov/recognition/awardeeProfile/892|title=PAESMEM Awardee Profile|website=paesmem.net|access-date=21 January 2023}}
- 2015 – TREE (Transformational Research and Excellence in Education) Award from Research Corporation{{Cite web|url=https://rescorp.org/news/2015/03/three-tree-awards-announced|title=Three TREE Awards Announced|last=Advancement|first=Research Corporation for Science|website=Research Corporation for Science Advancement|date=9 March 2015 |language=en|access-date=2020-02-12}}
- 2016 – Fellow, American Physical Society{{cite web | title=Professor Keivan Stassun - Physicist Profile | website=American Physical Society | date=13 May 2024 | url=https://www.aps.org/careers/profiles/keivan-stassun | access-date=6 January 2025}}
- 2018 – American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) Mentor Award
- 2019 – Cottrell Plus Impact Award from Research Corporation{{Cite web|url=https://rescorp.org/news/2019/03/rcsa-announces-2019-cottrell-plus-impact-and-star-awards|title=RCSA Announces 2019 Cottrell Plus IMPACT and STAR Awards|date=2019-03-11|publisher=Research Corporation for Science Advancement|language=en|access-date=2020-02-07}}
- 2020 - Elected a Legacy Fellow of the American Astronomical Society in 2020.{{cite web|url=https://aas.org/grants-and-prizes/aas-fellows|title=AAS Fellows|publisher=AAS|accessdate=30 September 2020}}
- 2024 - MacArthur Fellowship{{Cite web |title=Keivan G. Stassun |url=https://www.macfound.org/fellows/class-of-2024/keivan-g-stassun |access-date=2024-10-02 |website=www.macfound.org |language=en}}
- 2025 - Recipient of the National Medal of Science.{{cite web | author=The White House | title=President Biden Honors Nation’s Leading Scientists, Technologists, and Innovators | website=The White House | date=3 January 2025 | url=https://bidenwhitehouse.archives.gov/briefing-room/statements-releases/2025/01/03/president-biden-honors-nations-leading-scientists-technologists-and-innovators/ | access-date=4 January 2025}}
Selected publications
- Stassun, Keivan Guadalupe (2000–07). "The Connection Between Rotation, Circumstellar Disks, and Accretion Among Low-Mass Pre-Main-Sequence Stars"
- Stassun, Keivan G.; Mathieu, Robert (2002–08). "A Spectroscopic and Photometric Study of Newly Discovered Pre-Main- Sequence Eclipsing Binaries in Orion"{{Cite journal|last1=Stassun|first1=Keivan G.|last2=Mathieu|first2=Robert|date=August 2002|title=A Spectroscopic and Photometric Study of Newly Discovered Pre-Main- Sequence Eclipsing Binaries in Orion|journal=Noao|language=en|pages=196|bibcode=2002noao.prop..196S}}
References
{{Reflist}}
External links
- [https://my.vanderbilt.edu/kstassun/ Website]
- [https://www.aps.org/careers/physicists/profiles/stassun.cfm American Physical Society]
- [https://www.aaas.org/news/astrophysicist-keivan-stassun-wins-2018-aaas-mentor-award AAAS Mentorship Award]
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Category:University of Wisconsin–Madison alumni
Category:Vanderbilt University faculty
Category:21st-century American physicists
Category:Fellows of the American Physical Society
Category:Fellows of the American Astronomical Society
Category:University of California, Berkeley alumni
Category:21st-century American astronomers
Category:Fisk University faculty
Category:Physicists from California