Jason Kalirai
| Jason Kalirai | |
|---|---|
 Kalirai presenting on the NASA Hyperwall at the Jan 2016 American Astronomical Society conference. | |
| Born | 1 April 1978[1] Quesnel, British Columbia, Canada |
| 🏡 Residence | Highland, Maryland, United States |
| 🏳️ Nationality | Canadian-American |
| 🏳️ Citizenship | Canada-United States |
| 🎓 Alma mater | University of British Columbia PhD University of British Columbia MSc University of British Columbia BSc |
| 💼 Occupation | |
| Known for | Stellar astrophysics |
| 👩 Spouse(s) | Mandeep Kalirai |
| 👶 Children | 4 |
| 🏅 Awards | Kavli Frontiers of Science Fellow (2014) Newton Lacy Pierce Prize (2013) Maryland Academy of Sciences Outstanding Young Scientist (2013) Baltimore Magazine's "Top 40 under 40" Hubble Fellowship (2005-2008) |
| 🌐 Website | www |
Jasonjot "Jason" Singh Kalirai (born 01 April 1978) is a Canadian-American astrophysicist at the Space Telescope Science Institute and Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, Maryland. He is notable for his work in stellar evolution and stellar/galactic astrophysics, for helping advance future NASA telescopes, and for championing science to young students and public audiences. In 2018, he authored a major scientific review on NASA's James Webb Space Telescope (JWST).[2] His work has been featured on CNN[3] and in several documentaries and films including Telescope,[4] The Dark Side of the Sun,[5] Into the Unknown,[6] NOVA's Eclipse Over America,[7] NOVA's Facebook Live of 2017 Solar Eclipse[8] with Miles O'Brien and Jason Kalirai, NOVA Wonders Are we Alone?[9] Kalirai's contributions to astronomy and astrophysics and engagement with the public have been recognized with several awards, including the Newton Lacy Pierce prize from the American Astronomical Society (AAS) and the Maryland Academy of Sciences Outstanding Young Scientist award. In 2013, he was selected by Astronomy Magazine as a "Rising Star" and by Baltimore Magazine as one of the Baltimore Metropolitan area's "Top 40 under 40". In 2016, Kalirai was one 200 scientists invited by the White House to meet President Barack Obama at the Frontiers Conference.
Early Life, Education, and Academic Career[edit]
Kalirai was born in the small town of Quesnel in the province of British Columbia, Canada. He is a Sikh. He lived with his parents, older brother, and younger sister. His father and mother immigrated to Canada from Punjab, India in the early 1970s. He left Quesnel in 1996 and entered an undergraduate Honors program in Physics & Astronomy at the University of British Columbia (UBC) in Vancouver. His undergraduate work was supported by a University of BC Scholarship and a Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC) undergraduate student research award, which he took to the University of Toronto as a summer project in atmospheric physics. Kalirai completed his Bachelor of Science (BSc) in Honors Physics and Astronomy 2000.
Kalirai received an NSERC Postgraduate Scholarship (PGS-A) in 2000 and completed a Masters of Science (MSc) in Astrophysics at UBC. His thesis was based on the Canada-France-Hawaii Telescope (CFHT) Open Cluster Survey, a program that he developed. He entered a doctoral program at UBC with Professor Harvey Richer and obtained a Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) in Astrophysics in 2004, again supported by an NSERC Postgraduate Scholarship (PGS-B). His doctoral thesis was titled "Astrophysics with White Dwarfs".[10]
During his graduate work, Kalirai was awarded the best graduate student poster award by the Canadian Astronomical Society (CASCA) twice (2000; 2002), and the best graduate student oral presentation award once (2003).[11]
In 2005, Kalirai was selected as a NASA Hubble Postdoctoral Fellow.[12] He and his wife moved to the University of California at Santa Cruz, where he was a postdoctoral fellow until 2008. At Santa Cruz, Kalirai worked closely with Professor Raja Guhathakurta on projects that resulted in the discovery of the metal-poor halo of the Andromeda Spiral Galaxy. In 2008, Kalirai joined the Space Telescope Science Institute as an Assistant Astronomer. He was promoted to Associate Astronomer in 2012 and received tenure in 2014.
Kalirai is currently the Multi-Mission Project Scientist at STScI, prior to which he was the Project Scientist for the JWST and a member of the Hubble Space Telescope Wide Field Camera 3 photometric calibration team.[13][14] He has been an invited member of several committees to help shape future NASA and NSF projects, including the NASA Astrophysics Advisory Committee, the Wide Field Infrared Survey Telescope (WFIRST) Formulation Science Working Group, the Large Synoptic Survey Telescope (LSST) Science Advisory Committee, the NASA Astrophysics 30-year Roadmap Team.
Research[edit]
Kalirai's research interests focus on measuring fundamental astrophysical relations through high-precision studies of nearby stars. He has led a decade-long effort to establish a relation between the initial and final masses of stars,[15] [16][17][18] a crucial input to predict stellar evolution life cycles and integrated properties of galaxies (i.e., starlight). Kalirai's new relation also allows astronomers to predict the future evolution of our Sun and its impact on planet Earth.[19]
Kalirai also invented a new technique to measure the age of the Milky Way Galaxy using "dead" white dwarf stars.[20] His method suggests that the local halo of our Galaxy is 11.4 billion years old, younger than the oldest most metal-poor star clusters in the Galaxy.
Kalirai's recent research has established one of the most sensitive measurements of the mass distribution of stars that forms from a burst of star formation (the initial mass function of stars), and suggests that the distribution is tilted towards lower masses in more metal-poor environments[21]
Kalirai has also been involved in other research programs in stellar and galactic astrophysics, including the discovery of faint white dwarfs in ancient globular clusters,[22][23] and was a member of the team that discovered the metal-poor halo of the Andromeda Galaxy.[24][25][26]
Kalirai's research achievements earned him a personal letter from the Prime Minister of Canada, Stephen Harper in 2007[27] and an opportunity to meet the President of the United States, Barack Obama in 2016 at the Frontiers Conference.
Public Outreach[edit]
Kalirai is very active in communicating science and technology to students and the general public, and is frequently invited to speak to large audiences. He has led several hundred education and public outreach initiatives. His work is focused on developing partnerships and directly interacting with students in local schools, proactively leading new initiatives with groups underrepresented in STEM, building STEM education networks and curricula and training teachers and library staff, and presenting astronomy talks at many informal science centers and major events across the country.
Awards and Honors[edit]
- 2005-2008, Hubble Fellowship
- 2013, Selected by Astronomy Magazine as "Top Rising Star"[28]
- 2013, Selected by CNN as the first scientist for their new "The Science Seat" feature
- 2013, Selected by Baltimore Magazine as a "Top 40 under 40" in the metropolitan area
- 2013, Maryland Academy of Sciences Outstanding Young Scientist[29]
- 2013, American Astronomical Society Newton Lacy Pierce Prize, 2013
- 2014, Academic Minute - Listener's Choice Award
- 2014, Kavli Frontiers of Science Fellow
- 2016, Selected by the White House as one of 200 US scientists invited to the Frontiers Conference to meet with President Barack Obama
- 2018, NASA Group Achievement Award for WFIRST
Personal Life[edit]
Kalirai enjoys coaching youth sports including basketball, soccer, and ice hockey. He is a level 2 certified USA Hockey coach for the Howard County Huskies and coaches teams at the Squirt and PeeWee level.
Kalirai is married to Mandeep Kalirai and they have two daughters and two sons.
References[edit]
- ↑ Kalirai, Jason (2018). "Curricula Vitae – Jason Kalirai" (PDF). Contemporary Physics. 59 (3): 251. Retrieved 22 August 2018.
- ↑ Kalirai, Jason (Apr 2018). "Scientific discovery with the James Webb Space Telescope". Contemporary Physics. 59 (3): 259–290. arXiv:1805.06941. Bibcode:2018arXiv180506941K. doi:10.1080/00107514.2018.1467648.
- ↑ Karikari-apau, Nana (February 2013). "The Science Seat: Sun will fry Earth - 'Sorry!'". CNN.
- ↑ "Telescope". imdb.com. IMDB. Retrieved 22 August 2018.
- ↑ "The Dark Side of the Sun". imdb.com. IMDB. Retrieved 22 August 2018.
- ↑ "Into the Unknown". youtube.com. YouTube. Retrieved 22 August 2018.
- ↑ "Eclipse Over America". pbs.org. PBS. Retrieved 22 August 2018.
- ↑ "Facebook Live of 2017 Solar Eclipse". facebook.com. Facebook. Retrieved 22 August 2018.
- ↑ "Nova Wonders Are we Alone". pbs.org. PBS. Retrieved 22 August 2018.
- ↑ http://www.worldcat.org/title/astrophysics-with-white-dwarfs/oclc/65113852&referer=brief_results
- ↑ "CASCA Student Presentation Awards". casca.ca. CASCA. Retrieved 22 August 2018.
- ↑ "NASA Hubble Fellowship Program". stsci.edu. STScI. Retrieved 22 August 2018.
- ↑ Kalirai, J.S.; MacKenty, J.; Rajan, A.; Baggett, S.; Bohlin, R.; Brown, T.; Deustua, S.; Kimble, R.A.; Riess, A.; Sabbi, E. (2009). WFC3 SMOV Proposal 11450: The Photometric Performance and Calibration of WFC3/UVIS. Instrument Science Report WFC3 2009-31, 27 pages (Technical report). p. 21. Bibcode:2009wfc..rept...21K.CS1 maint: Uses authors parameter (link)
- ↑ Kalirai, J.S.; MacKenty, J.; Bohlin, R.; Brown, T.; Deustua, S.; Kimble, R.A.; Riess, A. (2009). WFC3 SMOV Proposal 11450: The Photometric Performance and Calibration of WFC3/UVIS. Instrument Science Report WFC3 2009-30, 20 pages (Technical report). p. 30. Bibcode:2009wfc..rept...30K.CS1 maint: Uses authors parameter (link)
- ↑ Kalirai, Jasonjot Singh; Richer, Harvey B.; Reitzel, David; Hansen, Brad M.S.; Rich;, R.M.; Fahlman, G.G.; Gibson, Brad K.; von Hippel, Ted (2005). "The Initial-Final Mass Relationship: Spectroscopy of White Dwarfs in NGC 2099 (M37)". Astrophysical Journal. 618 (2): L123–L127. arXiv:astro-ph/0409171. Bibcode:2005ApJ...618L.123K. doi:10.1086/427774.CS1 maint: Uses authors parameter (link)
- ↑ Kalirai, Jasonjot S.; Bergeron, P.; Hansen, Brad M.S.; Kelson, Daniel D.; Reitzel, David B.; Rich, R. Michael; Richer, Harvey B. (2007). "Stellar Evolution in NGC 6791: Mass Loss on the Red Giant Branch and the Formation of Low-Mass White Dwarfs". Astrophysical Journal. 671 (1): 748–760. arXiv:0705.0977. Bibcode:2007ApJ...671..748K. doi:10.1086/521922.CS1 maint: Uses authors parameter (link)
- ↑ Kalirai, Jasonjot S.; Hansen, Brad M.S.; Kelson, Daniel D.; Reitzel, David B.; Rich, R. Michael; Richer, Harvey B. (2008). "The Initial-Final Mass Relation: Direct Constraints at the Low-Mass End". Astrophysical Journal. 676 (1): 594–609. arXiv:0706.3894. Bibcode:2008ApJ...676..594K. doi:10.1086/527028.CS1 maint: Uses authors parameter (link)
- ↑ Kalirai, Jasonjot S.; Davis, Saul D.; Richer, Harvey, B.; Bergeron, P.; Catelan, M.; Hansen, Brad M.S.; Rich, R. Michael (2009). "The Masses of Population II White Dwarfs". Astrophysical Journal. 705 (1): 408–425. arXiv:0909.2253. Bibcode:2009ApJ...705..408K. doi:10.1088/0004-637X/705/1/408.CS1 maint: Uses authors parameter (link)
- ↑ http://www.stsci.edu/~jkalirai/ASYarticleJasonKalirai.pdf[dead link]
- ↑ Kalirai, Jason S. (2013). "The Age of the Milky Way Inner Halo". Nature. 486 (7401): 90–92. arXiv:1205.6802. Bibcode:2012Natur.486...90K. doi:10.1038/nature11062. PMID 22678285.CS1 maint: Uses authors parameter (link)
- ↑ Kalirai, Jason S.; Anderson, Jay; Dotter, Aaron; Richer, Harvey B.; Fahlman, Gregory G.; Hansen, Brad, M.S.; Hurley, Jarrod; Reid, I. Neill; Rich, R. Michael; Shara, Michael M. (2013). "Ultra-Deep Hubble Space Telescope Imaging of the Small Magellanic Cloud: The Initial Mass Function of Stars with M < 1 Msun". The Astrophysical Journal. 763 (2): 110. arXiv:1212.1159. Bibcode:2013ApJ...763..110K. doi:10.1088/0004-637X/763/2/110.CS1 maint: Uses authors parameter (link)
- ↑ Hansen, Brad M.S.; Anderson}, Jay; Brewer, James; Dotter, Aaron; Fahlman}, Greg. G.; Hurley, Jarrod; Kalirai, Jason; King, Ivan; Reitzel, David; Richer, Harvey B.; Rich, R. Michael; Shara, Michael M.; Stetson, Peter B. (2007). "The White Dwarf Cooling Sequence of NGC 6397". Astrophysical Journal. 671 (1): 380–401. arXiv:astro-ph/0701738. Bibcode:2007ApJ...671..380H. doi:10.1086/522567.CS1 maint: Uses authors parameter (link)
- ↑ Hansen, B.M.S.; Kalirai, J.S.; Anderson, J.; Dotter, A.; Richer, H.B.; Rich, R.M.; Shara, M.M.; Fahlman, G.G.; Hurley, J.R.; King, I.R.; Reitzel, D.; Stetson, P.B. (2013). "An age difference of two billion years between a metal-rich and a metal-poor globular cluster". Nature. 500 (7460): 51–3. arXiv:1308.0032. Bibcode:2013Natur.500...51H. doi:10.1038/nature12334. PMID 23903747.CS1 maint: Uses authors parameter (link)
- ↑ Guhathakurta, Puragra; Ostheimer, James C.; Gilbert, Karoline M.; Rich, R. Michael; Majewski, Steven R.; Kalirai, Jasonjot S.; Reitzel, David B.; Patterson, Richard J. (2005). "Discovery of an extended halo of metal-poor stars in the Andromeda spiral galaxy": astro–ph/0502366. Bibcode:2005astro.ph..2366G.CS1 maint: Uses authors parameter (link)
- ↑ Kalirai, Jasonjot S.; Gilbert, Karoline M.; Guhathakurta, Puragra; Majewski, Steven R.; Ostheimer, James C.; Rich, R. Michael; Cooper, Michael C.; Reitzel, David B.; Patterson, Richard J. (2006). "The Metal-poor Halo of the Andromeda Spiral Galaxy (M31)". Astrophysical Journal. 648 (1): 389–404. arXiv:astro-ph/0605170. Bibcode:2006ApJ...648..389K. doi:10.1086/505697.CS1 maint: Uses authors parameter (link)
- ↑ Gilbert, Karoline M.; Guhathakurta, Puragra; Kalirai, Jasonjot S.; Rich, R. Michael; Majewski, Steven R.; Ostheimer, James C.; Reitzel, David B.; Cenarro, A. Javier; Cooper, Michael C.; Luine, Carynn; Patterson, Richard J. (2006). "A New Method for Isolating M31 Red Giant Stars: The Discovery of Stars out to a Radial Distance of 165 kpc". Astrophysical Journal. 652 (2): 1188–1212. arXiv:astro-ph/0605171. Bibcode:2006ApJ...652.1188G. doi:10.1086/508643.CS1 maint: Uses authors parameter (link)
- ↑ "Letter to Jason Kalirai from Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper" (PDF). stsci.edu. STScI. Retrieved 22 August 2018.
- ↑ http://www.astronomy.com/galleries/archive/rising-star
- ↑ https://www.mdsci.org/learn/awards-scholarships/oys-oye/
External Links[edit]
Wikipedia page for Astrophysicist Jason Kalirai[edit]
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