Draft:Jason Kalirai
Submission declined on 26 January 2025 by RangersRus (talk).
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Comment: Please add sources for all awards and reliable sources with significant coverage (secondary independent). RangersRus (talk) 16:01, 26 January 2025 (UTC)
Jasonjot "Jason" Singh Kalirai (born 01 April 1978) is a Canadian-American astrophysicist at the Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory. He is notable for his work in leading new space exploration missions, instruments, technologies, and research programs. He has also led novel research at the Space Telescope Science Institute and Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, MD on stellar evolution and stellar/galactic astrophysics and helped advance future NASA telescopes. He is very active in championing science to young students and public audiences and has been featured in numerous press releases, features, and documentaries.
Kalirai's contributions to astronomy and astrophysics and engagement with the public have been recognized with several awards, including the Society of Asian Scientists and Engineers Executive of the Year, American Astronomical Society 2025 Fellow, Newton Lacy Pierce prize from the American Astronomical Society (AAS) and the Maryland Academy of Sciences Outstanding Young Scientist award. In 2013, he was selected by Astronomy Magazine as a "Rising Star" and by Baltimore Magazine as one of the Baltimore Metropolitan area's “Top 40 under 40”.
Early Life, Education, and Academic Career
[edit]Kalirai was born in the small town of Quesnel in the province of British Columbia, Canada. He is a Sikh. He attended the University of British Columbia (UBC) in Vancouver and completed Bachelor of Science (BSc) Master of Science (MSc), and [Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) degrees in the study of physics. In 2005, Kalirai was selected as a NASA Hubble Postdoctoral Fellow.[2] at the University of California at Santa Cruz. In 2008, Kalirai joined the Space Telescope Science Institute as an Assistant Astronomer. He led science efforts on the Hubble Space Telescope, James Webb Space Telescope, Nancy Roman Grace Space Telescope and maintained a vibrant research program with multiple postdoctoral researchers. He received tenure at the Institute in 2014.
Research
[edit]Kalirai's research interests focus on measuring fundamental astrophysical relations through high-precision studies of nearby stars. He has led a decade-long effort to establish a relation between the initial and final masses of stars </ref>[3]
Kalirai also invented a new technique to measure the age of the Milky Way Galaxy using "dead" white dwarf stars[4]. His method suggests that the local halo of our Galaxy is 11.4 billion years old, younger than the oldest most metal-poor star clusters in the Galaxy.
Kalirai's research has established one of the most sensitive measurements of the mass distribution of stars that forms from a burst of star formation (the initial mass function of stars), and suggests that the distribution is tilted towards lower masses in more metal-poor environments[5]
Public Outreach
[edit]Kalirai is very active in communicating science and technology to students and the general public, and is frequently invited to speak to large audiences. He has led several hundred education and public outreach initiatives. His work is focused on developing partnerships and directly interacting with students in local schools, proactively leading new initiatives with groups underrepresented in STEM, building STEM education networks and curricula and training teachers and library staff, and presenting astronomy talks at many informal science centers and major events across the country.
Awards and Honors
[edit]- 2005-2008, Hubble Fellowship
- 2013, Selected by Astronomy Magazine as “Top Rising Star”
- 2013, Selected by CNN as the first scientist for their new “The Science Seat” feature
- 2013, Selected by Baltimore Magazine as a “Top 40 under 40” in the metropolitan area
- 2013, Maryland Academy of Sciences Outstanding Young Scientist
- 2013, American Astronomical Society Newton Lacy Pierce Prize, 2013
- 2014, Academic Minute - Listener's Choice Award
- 2014, Kavli Frontiers of Science Fellow
- 2016, Selected by the White House as one of 200 US scientists invited to the Frontiers Conference to meet with President Barack Obama
- 2018, NASA Group Achievement Award for WFIRST
- 2023, [[NASA Group Achievement Award for [[Parker Solar Probe]
- 2024, Society of Asian Scientists and Engineers Executive of the Year award
- 2025, American Astronomical Society Fellow
Personal Life
[edit]Kalirai enjoys coaching youth sports including basketball, soccer, and ice hockey.
References
[edit]- ^ "Curricula Vitae – Jason Kalirai" (PDF). 2018. Retrieved 22 August 2018.
- ^ "NASA Hubble Fellowship Program". stsci.edu. STScI. Retrieved 22 August 2018.
- ^ Kalirai, Jasonjot S.; Hansen, Brad M. S.; Kelson, Daniel D.; Reitzel, David B.; Rich, R. Michael; Richer, Harvey B. (2008). "The Initial-Final Mass Relation: Direct Constraints at the Low-Mass End". Astrophysical Journal. 676 (1): 594-609. arXiv:0706.3894. Bibcode:2008ApJ...676..594K. doi:10.1086/527028.
- ^ Kalirai, Jason S. (2013). "The Age of the Milky Way Inner Halo". Nature. 486 (7401): 90–92. arXiv:1205.6802. Bibcode:2012Natur.486...90K. doi:10.1038/nature11062. PMID 22678285.
- ^ Kalirai, Jason S.; Anderson, Jay; Dotter, Aaron; Richer, Harvey B.; Fahlman, Gregory G.; Hansen, Brad M. S.; Hurley, Jarrod; Reid, I. Neill; Rich, R. Michael; Shara, Michael M. (2013). "Ultra-Deep Hubble Space Telescope Imaging of the Small Magellanic Cloud: The Initial Mass Function of Stars with M < 1 Msun". The Astrophysical Journal. 763 (2): 110. arXiv:1212.1159. Bibcode:2013ApJ...763..110K. doi:10.1088/0004-637X/763/2/110.
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