Peter Garnavich

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Peter Garnavich
Born
Peter Marcus Garnavich

United States
NationalityAmerican
Alma materUniversity of Maryland (1980), Massachusetts Institute of Technology (1983), University of Washington (1991)
SpouseLara Arielle Phillips
Awards
Scientific career
InstitutionsUniversity of Notre Dame
ThesisThe stellar angular correlation : clues to wide binary star properties (1991)
Doctoral advisorBruce Margon
Websitehttps://physics.nd.edu/people/peter-garnavich/

Peter M. Garnavich is the current chair of the Department of Physics at University of Notre Dame. His primary research area is the study of supernovae and their diversity.[1] He has also studied gamma ray bursts and cataclysmic variable stars.[2] Garnavich is a member of a supernova search team that contributed to the discovery of dark energy in 1998.[3] He was named a fellow of the American Astronomical Society in 2024.[2]

Early life and education[edit]

Garnavich earned a bachelor of science in astronomy from the University of Maryland in 1980, a master of science in physics from Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) in 1983, and a Ph.D. in astronomy from the University of Washington in 1991.[1]

Research, career, and awards[edit]

Garnavich has been a co-author on over 900 papers, a first author on over 200 papers, and has an h-index of 69.[4][5]

Garnavich served as a research associate at the Space Telescope Science Institute from 1983–1985.[1] One of his projects with the STSI consisted of the "Working Group for Anonymizing Proposal Reviews" which has helped to increase the number of women and younger researchers who have been granted time to use the Hubble Space Telescope. For this work, Garnavich was awarded the a NASA Silver Achievement Award in 2020.[6]

Following the completing of his Ph.D., Garnavich was a postdoctoral fellow at Dominion Astrophysical Observatory from 1992–1995.[1] Garnavich obtained a Plaskett Fellowship[7] which is granted to recent outstanding doctoral graduates in astrophysics.[8]

Garnavich also was a fellow at the Center for Astrophysics | Harvard & Smithsonian from 1995–1999. At Harvard, he was a key member of the High-Z Supernova Search Team that discovered the acceleration of the expansion of the universe.[3] That discovery was awarded the 2011 Nobel Prize in Physics as well as the Gruber Prize in Cosmology (2007) and the Breakthrough Prize in Fundamental Physics (2015).[1]

Garnavich joined Notre Dame in 2000 as an assistant professor, and was promoted to associate professor in 2003. In 2008 he earned the rank of full professor. Garnavich was appointed chair of the Department of Physics in 2017.[1]

The American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) elected Garnavich as a physics fellow in 2012.[9]

In 2012, Notre Dame law student Colin Littlefield published a paper in The Astronomical Journal[10] detailing the discovery of WR 142b, a rare Wolf-Rayet star. Co-authors of the paper include Garnavich and Terrig Rettig of Notre Dame.[11]

In 2024, Garnavich was named a fellow of the American Astronomical Society. Along with research in supernovae, gamma ray bursts, and cataclysmic variable stars, he was also recognized for his "leadership in observational collaborations" and "tireless devotion to students and the astronomical community."[2]

Under Garnavich's tutelage, in 2024 Notre Dame undergraduate McKenna Leichty discovered a potential planet within the catclysmic variable star system V808 Aurigae.[12][13] Leichty used the Krismanich Telescope located in an observatory on the top of Notre Dame's Jordan Hall of Science.[13]

References[edit]

  1. ^ a b c d e f Peter Garnavich appointed chair of the Department of Physics
  2. ^ a b c "AAS Names 21 New Fellows for 2024". aas.org. Feb 1, 2024. Retrieved Jun 4, 2024.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  3. ^ a b Stowe, Gene (2011-10-05). "Nobel winners' team that discovered accelerating universe included Garnavich". College of Science. Retrieved 2023-10-16.
  4. ^ "ADS Author Search". Retrieved August 30, 2017.
  5. ^ "Peter M. Garnavich". research.com. Retrieved Jun 3, 2024.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  6. ^ McCool, Deanna Csomo (2020-10-30). "Garnavich receives NASA award for work on anonymous proposal team". College of Science. Retrieved 2024-06-03.
  7. ^ Canada, National Research Council (2019-03-21). "Plaskett Fellowship". nrc.canada.ca. Retrieved 2024-06-04.
  8. ^ Canada, National Research Council (2019-03-21). "Plaskett Fellows, 1975 to present". nrc.canada.ca. Retrieved 2024-06-04.
  9. ^ "AAAS Members Elected as Fellows". aaas.org. Nov 30, 2012. Retrieved Jun 4, 2024.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  10. ^ Littlefield, Colin; Garnavich, Peter; Marion, G. H. “Howie”; Vinkó, József; McClelland, Colin; Rettig, Terrence; Wheeler, J. Craig (May 2012). "DISCOVERY OF A WOLF–RAYET STAR THROUGH DETECTION OF ITS PHOTOMETRIC VARIABILITY". The Astronomical Journal. 143 (6): 136. doi:10.1088/0004-6256/143/6/136. ISSN 1538-3881.
  11. ^ Goethals, Shelly (2012-05-02). "Notre Dame student discovers rare star". Department of Physics and Astronomy. Retrieved 2024-06-04.
  12. ^ Leichty, McKenna; Garnavich, Peter; Littlefield, Colin; Schwope, Axel; Kurpas, Jan; Mason, Paul A.; Beuerman, Klaus (Feb 28, 2024). "An Eccentric Planet Orbiting the Polar V808 Aurigae". arXiv. arXiv:2402.16959.
  13. ^ a b Schlehuber, Madeline (2024-04-22). "Undergraduate McKenna Leichty discovers probable planet with help from Krizmanich Telescope atop Jordan Hall". College of Science. Retrieved 2024-06-04.
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