Astrophysics and Cosmology
Fourteen full-time faculty members are joined by staff, postdocs, and students in research on astrophysics and cosmology. Major areas of research include:
- theories of the very early universe (Khoury, Lee, Trodden);
- approaches to cosmic acceleration, including modified gravity (Jain, Khoury, Madhavacheril, Sheth, Trodden);
- the properties of dark matter and dark energy, and their influence on the formation of galaxies (Bernstein, Devlin, Jain, Madhavacheril, Sako, Sanderson, Sheth);
- the nonlinear growth of structure in the Universe (Bernstein, Jain, Lee, Madhavacheril, Sheth);
- the evolution of galaxies through the epoch of reionization and into the recent era (Aguirre, Bernardi, Lidz);
- millimeter and sub-millimeter observations of galaxy clusters, and of star and galaxy formation (Aguirre, Devlin, Madhavacheril);
- observations of transient phenomena in the Universe (Sako);
- detection of planets and planet-forming systems around nearby stars (Blake, Devlin, Jain); and
- observations of the Solar System beyond Neptune (Bernstein, Blake, Sako).
We address these questions from many angles:
- developing new instrumentation in the optical, millimeter, and sub-millimeter regimes;
- observations from the radio through x-ray;
- analysis of large survey datasets;
- computation and simulation;
- and theory.
There is close collaboration between the astrophysics group and Penn researchers conducting laboratory and astrophysical studies of the nature of dark matter (Klein, Sanderson) and theoretical studies of gravitational and dark-sector physics (Khoury, Lee, Trodden). Many members of the department apply techniques from data science and machine learning to astronomical datasets (Bernardi, Jain, Madhavacheril, Sako, Sanderson).

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Walter H. and Leonore C. Annenberg Professor in the Natural Sciences
Co-Director of the Penn Center for Particle Cosmology, Co-Director of the Penn Data Driven Discovery Initiative
bjain@physics.upenn.edu(215) 573-5330
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Edmund J. and Louise W. Kahn Term Professor of Physics and Astronomy
Co-Director of the Penn Center for Particle Cosmology
jkhoury@sas.upenn.edu215-573-7152
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Arifa Hasan Ahmad and Nada Al Shoaibi Presidential Professor of Physics and Astronomy
masao@sas.upenn.edu
215-898-8151
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Dean, School of Arts & Sciences
Thomas S. Gates Jr. Professor of Physics and Astronomy
trodden@physics.upenn.edu215-898-7938
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News
Dark Energy Survey Collaboration Meeting
60 members of the Dark Energy Survey Collaboration gathered at Penn for their final collaboration meeting after 15 years of working on the project.
Read MoreMathew Madhavacheril and Co-Researchers Receive Funding from RCSA for Scialog Initiative
A team including Mathew Madhavacheril, an assistant professor of physics and astronomy in the School of Arts & Sciences, is among the first-ever recipients of funding from a new initiative supp
Read MoreCongratulations to Professor Mark Devlin
Great news!Professor Mark Devlin has been elected 2025 Member of the National Academy ofRead MoreAppointment of Professor Justin Khoury as co-Director of the Center for Particle Cosmology
The Center for Particle Cosmology would like to announce an important leadership change.
Read MoreCongratulations Dr. Monica Jinwoo Kang!
We are pleased to announce that the 2025 AKPA Outstanding Young Researcher Award (OYRA) will be awarded to Dr.Read MoreMark Trodden named dean of Penn’s School of Arts & Sciences
Mark Trodden has been named dean of the School of Arts & Sciences and the Thomas S. Gates Jr.
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