Stephen E Zepf

Stephen E Zepf is Professor and Chairperson of the Department of Physics and Astronomy at Michigan State University, with significant leadership roles including President of the SOAR Telescope Board of Directors. His research focuses on black holes, neutron stars, and multiple stellar populations in globular clusters, utilizing major telescopes like Hubble and Chandra.

His academic career spans institutions such as Yale University, UC Berkeley, and Durham University (UK), and he holds a PhD from Johns Hopkins University. He has contributed extensively to multiwavelength studies of extragalactic systems.

• 2024 American Astronomical Society Fellow
• 2013 University Distinguished Faculty Award
• 2014 College of Natural Science Faculty Mentoring Award
• 2015/2016 Department of Physics and Astronomy Osgood Teaching Award
• Hubble Fellowship at UC Berkeley

His recent publications highlight studies of ultraluminous X-ray sources in globular clusters, galaxy evolution through globular cluster kinematics, and helium-enriched stellar populations. He leads a research group involving students and postdocs and serves as a faculty liaison for Abrams Planetarium.