معرفی
Dr. Michael Kuhn is a Senior Lecturer in the Department of Physics, Astronomy and Mathematics at the University of Hertfordshire, where he is a member of the Centre for Astrophysics Research (CAR) within the School of Physics, Engineering & Computer Science. His research focuses on star formation using multiwavelength observations from X-ray to radio wavelengths, with a particular interest in young stellar objects (YSOs) and their environments.
Dr. Kuhn earned his B.A. in Astrophysics from Pennsylvania State University (2003-2007) followed by a Ph.D. in Astronomy & Astrophysics from the same institution (2008-2014). His external positions include research appointments at California Institute of Technology (2018-2022), Chilean National Science Funding Programme (FONDECYT) (2014-2017), and Pennsylvania State University (2007-2014).
His research interests center on understanding star formation processes, with specific questions addressing what controls star-formation rates, which star-formation events produce gravitationally bound star clusters, and how stars assemble their masses. He employs statistical modeling, mixture models, and spatial point processes in his astrostatistics work. His notable research highlights include demonstrating that most young stellar clusters are expanding and gravitationally unbound (2019), compiling the Spitzer/IRAC Candidate YSO (SPICY) catalogue (2021), and discovering a spur extending out of the Milky Way's Sagittarius Arm (2021).
Dr. Kuhn's recent publications (2024-2025) reveal a strong focus on externally irradiated protoplanetary disks (particularly through the XUE project), young stellar object outbursts and variability, and the development of tools for transient discovery. His work spans observational astronomy, statistical analysis, and data science applications in astrophysics, with significant contributions to understanding star formation in extreme environments.
Among his scientific achievements, Dr. Kuhn serves as Principal Investigator for the James Webb Space Telescope GO programme #5791 'The Crucible of Planet Formation' and has been a member of the Cosmostatistics-Initiative (COIN) since 2019. His research has generated numerous press releases from NASA, ESO, and other major astronomical organizations.
Dr. Kuhn actively engages in advising and collaborative research, with significant grant activity including the JWST program and participation in multiple international collaborations. He leads work on the SPICY catalog containing over 100,000 candidate young stellar objects and contributes to the ELEPHANT pipeline for detecting hostless astronomical transients.
As part of the Centre for Astrophysics Research, Dr. Kuhn collaborates with researchers across multiple institutions on projects involving the VISTA Variables in the Vía Láctea survey, Gaia data analysis, and JWST observations. His team focuses on developing statistical methods for analyzing star-forming regions and young stellar populations.
