David Charbonneau Named Professor of Astronomy at Harvard

Cambridge, Mass. May 13, 2010 - David Charbonneau, an international leader in the search for planets orbiting stars other than our sun, has been named professor of astronomy at Harvard University. Charbonneau was previously Thomas D. Cabot Associate Professor of Astronomy at Harvard, where he has been a member of the faculty since 2004. He has also been director of undergraduate studies in Harvard's Department of Astronomy since 2008. "Professor Charbonneau is an enormously influential scientist and a central figure in the search for exoplanets that has taken astronomy by storm over the last 15 years," says Jeremy Bloxham, dean of science in Harvard's Faculty of Arts and Sciences. "For all his skill as a scientist, he is no less adept in the classroom. He has reinvented Astronomy 16 as a gateway course for astronomy concentrators, and formulated a two-course sequence to provide a comprehensive overview of astrophysics.