Steve Kawaler

I joined the ISU faculty in 1989, after a stint as an associate research scientist at Yale University following completion of my PhD at the University of Texas in 1986. My astronomical journey began at an early age and included building (from scratch) several small telescopes. Still not having outgrown this childhood fascination with the cosmos, my research now focuses on theoretical and space-based studies of the lives (and deaths) of stars. My "specialty" is using subtle variation in the brightness of stars as seismic probes of their interiors via the relatively new field called asteroseismology. Much of my work now involves NASA's exoplanet-hunting spacecraft, which provide exquisite data on stars (some of which host extrasolar planetary systems). During down time I can often be found pondering the mysteries of the game of baseball (from the stands more than the field, unfortunately) or on a bicycle riding the roads of rural Iowa (if it isn't too hot, or too cold, or raining, or windy, or ...).