Peter Garnavich

Professor Peter Garnavich is a faculty member in the Department of Physics & Astronomy at the University of Notre Dame. His research focuses on observational astrophysics, particularly supernovae, dark energy, and gamma-ray burst progenitors. He has contributed to cosmological studies using supernova distance measurements and pioneered investigations into light echoes around historical supernovae.

Education: B.S. in Physics from University of Maryland (1980), M.S. from MIT (1983), Ph.D. from University of Washington (1991).

Research Interests:

• Supernova diversity and cosmological applications
• Dark energy studies via Hubble constant measurements
• Gamma-ray burst connections to hypernovae
• Jets in astrophysical systems (star-forming regions, white dwarf binaries)
• Cepheid variable and Large Magellanic Cloud distance calibration

Awards: He is a Fellow of the American Astronomical Society, American Physical Society, and AAAS, and co-recipient of the 2007 Gruber Cosmology Prize.

Recent Work: Focuses on JWST observations of peculiar supernovae (e.g., SN 2022pul), light echo analysis around historical explosions, and time-domain studies of cataclysmic variables. His team uses multi-wavelength data from HST, TESS, and ground-based facilities to explore stellar explosions and accretion processes.

Labs/Teams: Active in the SH0ES collaboration (Supernova H0 for the Equation of State) and leads observational campaigns at LBT, Magellan, and NOIRLab facilities.