Jessi Cisewski-Kehe

Jessi Cisewski-Kehe is an Associate Professor in the Department of Statistics at the University of Wisconsin–Madison, part of the School of Computer, Data & Information Sciences. Her research bridges statistics and astronomy, focusing on methodological development for complex, real-world datasets.

Her primary research interests lie in astrostatistics, where she develops statistical tools to detect low-mass exoplanets using radial velocity data, disentangling true planetary signals from stellar activity noise. She also specializes in topological data analysis (TDA), particularly persistent homology, and employs approximate Bayesian computation (ABC) and visualization techniques for interdisciplinary scientific challenges.

Her recent publications reflect a strong trend in applying topological and Bayesian methods to astronomical data, especially in exoplanet discovery and stellar variability modeling. These works sit at the intersection of statistics, astronomy, and computational data science.

Her scientific awards include the prestigious NSF CAREER Award and the Nellie McKay Fellowship at UW-Madison. She has been awarded multiple competitive grants from NSF and NASA, highlighting the impact and innovation of her research.

Jessi has advised research projects and collaborates extensively across disciplines. Her funding includes multiple NSF grants (CAREER, CDS&E, AST) and NASA awards, supporting work in exoplanet detection, nanoparticle-protein interactions, and energy storage systems. She previously held positions at Carnegie Mellon University and Yale University.

She leads research initiatives such as ExoStatistics and applies topological data analysis to challenges in astronomy and physical sciences. Her team develops open-source tools, including software for ABC methods and generalized landscapes in TDA.