The Astronomy & Astrophysics Department welcomes postdoctoral scientist Emiel Por, who invents technologies that mold the starlight captured by ground- and space-based telescopes to improve imaging of planetary companions. His work will be supported by the Heising-Simons Foundation's 51 Pegasi b Fellowship program.
The fellowship provides postdoctoral scientists with the opportunity to conduct theoretical, observational, and experimental research in planetary astronomy. Fellows receive up to $450,000 of support for independent research over three years—with the option to apply for a fourth year of funding—as well as time and space to establish distinction and leadership in the field.
Although today’s telescopes mostly detect distant exoplanets from quirks in the light of their host stars, our ability to see them directly has yet to reach its theoretical limits. By designing specialized instruments, Por is pushing observational power ahead to reveal the secrets of smaller exoplanets once inundated by starlight, the Heising-Simons Foundation stated in its award announcement.
“We’re really trying to mold the starlight around an exoplanet—not just suppress it—in a way that allows us to accurately sense, measure, and analyze what’s out there,” Por said. “Until recently, being able to interact with this light was an afterthought.”
Under Assistant Professor Rebecca Jensen Clem, Por will apply his expertise to enhance the SCALES spectrograph at W.M. Keck Observatory in Hawai’i, enabling higher-contrast imaging of planets closer to their stars. He will also develop a coronagraph that combines his earlier innovations with technologies that replace bulky, less-stable optical equipment with a compact photonic chip.
He will prototype this technique on the Santa Cruz Extreme AO Lab (SEAL) testbed and the Shane Adaptive Optics system at Lick Observatory. Por received a Ph.D. in astronomy and instrumentation from Leiden University.
Established in 2017, the 51 Pegasi b Fellowship is named for the first exoplanet discovered orbiting a Sun-like star. The Heising-Simons Foundation works with many partners to advance sustainable solutions in climate and clean energy, enable groundbreaking research in science, enhance the education of young learners, and support human rights.
