Andreas Faisst

Andreas Faisst is an Associate Research Scientist at Caltech's Infrared Processing and Analysis Center (IPAC), actively contributing to NASA's SPHEREx mission, the Infrared Science Archive (IRSA), and pioneering research on early galaxy evolution. His work spans data science infrastructure development and observational astrophysics using cutting-edge facilities like JWST and ALMA.

Research Focus: Faisst investigates galaxy formation within the first billion years after the Big Bang, specializing in dust-obscured galaxies, star-forming clumps, and the emergence of quiescent galaxies. His multi-wavelength approach integrates stellar, gas, and dust properties with supermassive black hole co-evolution.

• Awards:
  • Swiss Fellowship equivalent to Hubble Fellowship

Mentorship & Collaboration: He regularly supervises Caltech Summer Undergraduate Research Fellowship (SURF) students, particularly those with computer science backgrounds, and leads large international collaborations including the ALPINE ALMA program and JWST NIRSpec/IFU studies. Faisst emphasizes hands-on telescope experience for students to understand observational uncertainties.

Technical Leadership: As US lead for the ALPINE program and SPHEREx data pipeline developer, he bridges mission operations and scientific discovery. His current focus includes Fornax, a cloud-based platform enabling multi-telescope data analysis for resource-constrained institutions.