The California Academy of Sciences (Cal Academy) recently announced that SETI Institute Senior Planetary Astronomer, Dr. Franck Marchis, was named a 2023 Fellow in recognition of his unprecedented contributions to the natural sciences, specifically pertaining to public outreach while working at the SETI Institute, such as SETI Artists-in-Residence, SETI Live, and SETI Talks. His research involves the use of ground-based telescopes to search for asteroids with moons within our solar system, but has conducted research and been published on exoplanets, young exoplanetary systems, brown dwarf stars, and volcanic activity on Jupiter’s first Galilean moon, Io.
“As an astronomer, I am constantly amazed by the vastness and complexity of the universe,” said Dr. Marchis, who is also the co-founder and Chief Scientific Officer at Unistellar. “The California Academy of Sciences is a beacon of scientific exploration, igniting our imaginations and inspiring generations of scientists to push the boundaries of knowledge. I am honored to be a part of this extraordinary community. As a Fellow of Cal Academy, I am committed to using my expertise to support its mission of preserving the natural world and inspiring a lifelong love of science.”
Dr. Franck Marchis (Credit: Franck Marchis/SETI Institute)
Born in France, Dr. Marchis conducted most of his PhD thesis at La Silla Observatory in Chile but also while traveling throughout Great Britain, France, and Mexico. He earned his PhD in planetary science in 2000 from the University of Toulouse in France, which was followed by a postdoctoral research position at UC Berkeley, and in 2003 was promoted to assistant researcher. In 2007, Dr. Marchis was hired as a Planetary Scientist at the Carl Sagan Center of the SETI Institute where he was hired full-time in 2011.
Dr. Marchis isn’t the first SETI Institute scientist to be named a Cal Academy Fellow, as previous SETI Institute Fellows include Trustee Andrew Fraknoi, Dr. Seth Shostak, Dr. Nathalie Cabrol, and Dr. Jill Tarter.
As always, keep doing science & keep looking up!
Sources: SETI Institute, SETI Institute (1), SETI Institute (2), YouTube, SETI Institute (3), EurekAlert!, Unistellar
