Astronomy
Astronomy () is a natural science that studies astronomical object, celestial objects and phenomena. It uses mathematics, physics, and chemistry in order to explain their origin and chronology of the Universe, evolution. Objects of interest ...
at
Harvard University
Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636 as Harvard College and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of higher le ...
. His research focuses on the development of novel techniques for the detection and characterization of
exoplanets
An exoplanet or extrasolar planet is a planet outside the Solar System. The first possible evidence of an exoplanet was noted in 1917 but was not recognized as such. The first confirmation of detection occurred in 1992. A different planet, init ...
orbiting nearby,
Sun
The Sun is the star at the center of the Solar System. It is a nearly perfect ball of hot plasma, heated to incandescence by nuclear fusion reactions in its core. The Sun radiates this energy mainly as light, ultraviolet, and infrared radi ...
-like stars.
Early life and education
David Charbonneau was born in
Ottawa, Ontario
Ottawa (, ; Canadian French: ) is the capital city of Canada. It is located at the confluence of the Ottawa River and the Rideau River in the southern portion of the province of Ontario. Ottawa borders Gatineau, Quebec, and forms the core ...
. He is the son of Brian Charbonneau, a geologist, and Sylvia Charbonneau, a physician.
When he was around 12 years old, he visited
Pacific Rim National Park
Pacific Rim National Park Reserve is a national park located in British Columbia, Canada, which comprises three separate regions: Long Beach, the Broken Group Islands, and the West Coast Trail. Its the Pacific Coast Mountains, are characterized ...
with his family, where he spent time playing in
tide pools
A tide pool or rock pool is a shallow pool of seawater that forms on the rocky intertidal shore. Many of these pools exist as separate bodies of water only at low tide.
Many tide pool habitats are home to especially adaptable animals that ...
and observing the variety of organisms that lived in the
intertidal zone
The intertidal zone, also known as the foreshore, is the area above water level at low tide and underwater at high tide (in other words, the area within the tidal range). This area can include several types of habitats with various species o ...
. He credits this experience with sparking an early interest in science. When he was in high school, he read Stephen Hawking's ''
A Brief History of Time
''A Brief History of Time: From the Big Bang to Black Holes'' is a book on theoretical cosmology by English physicist Stephen Hawking. It was first published in 1988. Hawking wrote the book for readers who had no prior knowledge of physics.
I ...
.'' Intrigued by the ideas in the book, he decided to pursue studies in physics and astronomy, rather than biology.
Charbonneau received a Bachelor of Science degree in math, physics, and astronomy from the
University of Toronto
The University of Toronto (UToronto or U of T) is a public research university in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, located on the grounds that surround Queen's Park. It was founded by royal charter in 1827 as King's College, the first institution ...
in 1996. At the suggestion of his friend
Sara Seager
Sara Seager (born 21 July 1971) is a Canadian-American astronomer and planetary scientist. She is a professor at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and is known for her work on extrasolar planets and their atmospheres. She is the aut ...
, he applied to the graduate program in astronomy at
Harvard University
Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636 as Harvard College and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of higher le ...
and was accepted. As a graduate student in 1999, he used a 4-inch telescope to make the first detection of an exoplanet eclipsing (or transiting) its parent star, which yielded the first ever constraint on the composition of a planet outside the Solar system. He earned a PhD in astronomy in 2001.
In 2004, the Astronomical Society of the Pacific awarded him the
Robert J. Trumpler Award
The Robert J. Trumpler Award of the Astronomical Society of the Pacific is given annually to a recent recipient of the Ph.D degree whose thesis is judged particularly significant to astronomy.R. A. Millikan Postdoctoral Scholar in Astronomy at the
California Institute of Technology
The California Institute of Technology (branded as Caltech or CIT)The university itself only spells its short form as "Caltech"; the institution considers other spellings such a"Cal Tech" and "CalTech" incorrect. The institute is also occasional ...
from 2001 until 2004. He returned to Harvard in 2004 where he joined the faculty of the Department of Astronomy.
Charbonneau was a founding member of the
Trans-Atlantic Exoplanet Survey
The Trans-Atlantic Exoplanet Survey, or ''TrES'', used three 4-inch (10 cm) telescopes located at Lowell Observatory, Palomar Observatory, and Teide Observatory to locate exoplanets. It was made using the network of small, relatively inexpe ...
, which used a worldwide network of humble automated telescopes to survey hundreds of thousands of stars to detect 5 more exoplanets by this technique. Charbonneau also pioneered the use of space-based observatories to undertake the first studies of the atmospheres of these distant worlds: In 2001 he used the
Hubble Space Telescope
The Hubble Space Telescope (often referred to as HST or Hubble) is a space telescope that was launched into low Earth orbit in 1990 and remains in operation. It was not the first space telescope, but it is one of the largest and most versa ...
to study directly the chemical make-up of the atmosphere enshrouding one of these exoplanets, and in 2005, he led the team that used the
Spitzer Space Telescope
The Spitzer Space Telescope, formerly the Space Infrared Telescope Facility (SIRTF), was an infrared space telescope launched in 2003. Operations ended on 30 January 2020. Spitzer was the third space telescope dedicated to infrared astronomy, f ...
to make the first direct detection of the light emitted by an exoplanet. He is currently leading the NSF-funded
MEarth Project
The MEarth Project is a United States NSF-funded, robotic observatory that is part of Fred Lawrence Whipple Observatory on Mt. Hopkins, Arizona, US. The project monitors the brightness of thousands of red dwarf stars with the goal of finding tra ...
and is a member of the NASA
Kepler Mission
The Kepler space telescope is a disused space telescope launched by NASA in 2009 to discover Earth-sized planets orbiting other stars. Named after astronomer Johannes Kepler, the spacecraft was launched into an Earth-trailing heliocentric orb ...
Team. Each of these projects aims to detect Earth-like planets that might be suitable abodes for life beyond the Solar system.
Awards and honors
*
Robert J. Trumpler Award
The Robert J. Trumpler Award of the Astronomical Society of the Pacific is given annually to a recent recipient of the Ph.D degree whose thesis is judged particularly significant to astronomy.Alfred P. Sloan Research Fellow (2006–2008)
*David and Lucile Packard Fellowship for Science and Engineering (2006–2011)
*
NASA Exceptional Scientific Achievement Medal
The NASA Exceptional Scientific Achievement Medal (abbreviated ESAM) was established by NASA on September 15, 1961, when the original ESM was divided into three separate awards. Under the current guidelines, the ESAM is awarded for unusually sign ...
(2006)
*''
Discover Magazine
''Discover'' is an American general audience science magazine launched in October 1980 by Time Inc. It has been owned by Kalmbach Publishing since 2010.
History
Founding
''Discover'' was created primarily through the efforts of ''Time'' mag ...
'' Scientist of the Year (2007)
*National Science Foundation's
Alan T. Waterman Award
The Alan T. Waterman Award, named after Alan Tower Waterman, is the United States's highest honorary award for scientists no older than 40, or no more than 10 years past receipt of their Ph.D. It is awarded on a yearly basis by the National Scien ...
(2009)
*Raymond and Beverly
Sackler Prize The Sackler Prize can indicate any of the following three awards established by Raymond Sackler and his wife Beverly Sackler currently bestowed by the Tel Aviv University.
Sackler Prize in the Physical Sciences
The Raymond and Beverly Sackler Int ...
Charbonneau is married to Margaret Bourdeaux, a global health advocate and physician, with whom he has four daughters. His sister-in-law is
Carolyn Bourdeaux
Carolyn Jordan Bourdeaux (born June 3, 1970) is an American educator and politician serving as the U.S. representative from Georgia's 7th congressional district since 2021. The district was based in Gwinnett County, an affluent suburban county n ...