Matthew S Povich

"The pace of discovery in Astronomy and Astrophysics over the last century has been head-spinning. My students and I are fortunate to have the opportunity to work at the frontiers of knowledge. For non-specialists, the imagery and philosophical implications of modern astronomy are extraordinarily compelling, while the language used by scientists to describe their discoveries in professional literature can be impenetrable. I strive to bridge the gap between professional scientists and everyone else through teaching and public outreach."

 

—Matthew S. Povich

An internationally-recognized researcher, Dr. Povich has authored or co-authored more than 65 articles leading peer-reviewed scientific journals, with >5,900 total citations in the literature (source: SAO/NASA Astrophysics Data System). He is a multiwavelength observational astronomer, with a focus on using emprical tracers of star formation rates in the Milky Way to inform studies of star formation activity in external galaxies. He is best known for his work identifying and cataloging hundreds of thousands of young stellar objects using infrared and X-ray data, developing empirical methods for tracing the interfaces between hot plasmas and cold, dusty star-forming clouds, and his leadership of the Milky Way Project online citizen science platform.

Dr. Povich has secured >20 successful research grants and observing proposals as PI or Co-I, totaling  >$1.2 million in funding and awarded observing time on premier facilities including the Spitzer Space Telescope, Chandra X-ray Observatory, and James Webb Space Telescope. He was the first CPP faculty member to win a prestigious NSF CAREER award and received the Provost's Award for Excellence in Scholarly and Creative Activities in 2020.