- Focus on Research
- Milky Way and environs

Research on the Milky Way and nearby galaxies at UCSC covers a wide range of topics, including the star formation and the interstellar medium, stellar evolution, and stellar populations.
- Latest News
Faculty
UCSC is one of the world's leading centers for both observational and theoretical research in astronomy and astrophysics. The program includes over 30 faculty members in four departments, whose research interests range from the Solar System and the Milky Way to the most distant galaxies in the Universe and the most fundamental questions of cosmology. There are typically over a dozen postdoctoral researchers in residence, as well as a dedicated and skilled technical staff and a steady stream of visiting scientists. The UCSC astrophysics program was recently ranked first in the country in research impact, based on citation studies.
| Name | Academic Title | Department | |
|---|---|---|---|
![]() |
Anthony Aguirre | Associate Professor | Physics |
![]() |
Bruce Margon | Professor | Astronomy & Astrophysics |
![]() |
Charlie Conroy | Assistant Professor | Astronomy & Astrophysics |
![]() |
Claire Max | Professor | Astronomy & Astrophysics |
![]() |
Constance Rockosi | Professor | Astronomy & Astrophysics |
![]() |
David Koo | Professor | Astronomy & Astrophysics |
![]() |
David Smith | Associate Professor | Physics |
![]() |
Douglas Lin | Professor | Astronomy & Astrophysics |
![]() |
Enrico Ramirez-Ruiz | Associate Professor | Astronomy & Astrophysics |
![]() |
Erik Asphaug | Professor | Earth & Planetary Sciences |
![]() |
Francis Nimmo | Associate Professor | Earth & Planetary Sciences |
![]() |
Garth Illingworth | Professor | Astronomy & Astrophysics |
![]() |
Gary Glatzmaier | Professor | Earth & Planetary Sciences |
![]() |
Graeme Smith | Professor | Astronomy & Astrophysics |
![]() |
Gregory Laughlin | Professor | Astronomy & Astrophysics |
![]() |
Harland Epps | Professor | Astronomy & Astrophysics |
![]() |
Ian Garrick-Bethell | Assistant Professor | Earth & Planetary Sciences |
![]() |
J. Xavier Prochaska | Professor | Astronomy & Astrophysics |
![]() |
Jean Brodie | Professor | Astronomy & Astrophysics |
![]() |
Jerry Nelson | Professor | Astronomy & Astrophysics |
![]() |
Joel Primack | Professor | Physics |
![]() |
Jonathan Fortney | Associate Professor | Astronomy & Astrophysics |
![]() |
Mark Krumholz | Associate Professor | Astronomy & Astrophysics |
![]() |
Michael Bolte | Professor | Astronomy & Astrophysics |
![]() |
Nic Brummell | Professor | Applied Math & Statistics |
![]() |
Pascale Garaud | Associate Professor | Applied Math & Statistics |
![]() |
Piero Madau | Professor | Astronomy & Astrophysics |
![]() |
Raja Guhathakurta | Professor | Astronomy & Astrophysics |
![]() |
Rebecca Bernstein | Professor | Astronomy & Astrophysics |
| Robert Johnson | Professor | Physics | |
![]() |
Sandra Faber | Professor | Astronomy & Astrophysics |
![]() |
Stan Woosley | Professor | Astronomy & Astrophysics |
![]() |
Stefano Profumo | Associate Professor | Physics |
![]() |
Steven Ritz | Professor | Physics |
![]() |
Steven Vogt | Professor | Astronomy & Astrophysics |
![]() |
Tesla Jeltema | Assistant Professor | Physics |


































