Loren Anderson

Loren Anderson is a Professor in the Department of Physics & Astronomy at West Virginia University (WVU). His research focuses on Galactic HII regions and their role in understanding galactic structure, leading major projects like the GBT Diffuse Ionized Gas Survey and the WISE Catalog of Galactic HII Regions. He also directs the astrophysics REU program for undergraduates and the Mapping the Milky Way outreach project, engaging high school students in discovering new HII regions using the Green Bank Telescope.

Education: Ph.D., Boston University (2009); B.A., Whitman College (2002). He joined WVU as an assistant professor in 2011, after postdoctoral work with Annie Zavagno and Lise Deharveng on Herschel data. His teaching spans observational astronomy, the interstellar medium, and stellar structure, with courses like ASTR367/368 Astrophysics I/II and graduate seminars.

Research interests include ionization processes in HII regions, galactic structure, and radio astronomy techniques. Anderson is actively involved in large-scale surveys like THOR (H I/OH/Recombination Line Survey of the Milky Way) and has contributed to understanding star formation and interstellar medium dynamics.