Evan Kirby

Evan Kirby is an Associate Professor in the Department of Physics and Astronomy at the University of Notre Dame, part of the College of Science. His research focuses on galactic archaeology, using stellar spectroscopy to study element origins and chemical evolution. He has held previous faculty roles at Caltech and UC Irvine, and serves on boards for major observatories like the Large Binocular Telescope. His awards include the NSF CAREER and Cottrell Scholar recognitions.

Education: B.S. in Physics (Stanford, 2004), M.S. and Ph.D. in Astronomy (UC Santa Cruz, 2006 and 2009). His research interests span nucleosynthesis mechanisms, dwarf galaxy dynamics, and advanced spectrograph development. He teaches courses from undergraduate to graduate levels, emphasizing active learning methods.

• Research Interests: Element creation pathways, r-process, Type Ia supernovae, metal-poor stars, dark matter in dwarfs.
• Key Projects: Co-chair of Subaru PFS Galactic Archaeology Group, PI of Keck DEIMOS upgrades.

Recent research highlights include discovering sub-Chandrasekhar Type Ia supernovae in dwarfs and quantifying stellar mass-metallicity relations. His work bridges observational astronomy with theoretical models of galaxy evolution.

• Awards: Newton Lacy Pierce Prize (2017), Cottrell Scholar (2018–2021), NSF CAREER (2019–2024).
• Advising: Supervised 10 PhD students and numerous postdocs/researchers, including work on r-process abundances and galaxy formation.

Laboratory/Team Affiliations: Active in the Galactic Archaeology Working Group for Subaru PFS and leadership roles in Keck Observatory committees.