Dr. Deidre Hunter
Emeritus Astronomer
Extragalactic Astronomy
PhD University of Illinois, 1982
Dr. Hunter joined Lowell Observatory’s science staff in 1986. Before that, she held postdoctoral fellowships at Kitt Peak National Observatory and the Department of Terrestrial Magnetism of the Carnegie Institution.
For years, Dr. Hunter has headed the LITTLE THINGS project (Local Irregulars That Trace Luminosity Extremes and the HI Nearby Galaxy Survey). She and her team are striving to gain an understanding of star-forming processes in nearby dwarf irregular galaxies–how stars form from the interstellar medium and why the density of stars drops from the center of the galaxy outward, sometimes in a peculiar way. What is peculiar is how normal the drop off is.
Earlier in her career at Lowell, Dr. Hunter worked with astronomer Vera Rubin on the stellar kinematics of dwarf galaxies. Dr. Rubin earned her Ph.D. in astronomy in 1954, and was a trailblazer for women in the field.
Besides her research, Dr. Hunter also co-founded Lowell’s Native American Astronomy Outreach Program in 1996 with Dr. Amanda Bosh and continues to direct it. This is a science enrichment and outreach program for 4th-8th grade Native American teachers and their classes. Partly due to her commitment to this long-running and innovative program, Dr. Hunter was awarded the American Astronomical Society’s 2014 Education Prize.
Check out Dr. Hunter’s webpage.
Astronomers
Dr. Audrey Thirouin
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Dr. Thirouin’s area of expertise is the study of the diverse small body populations in our Solar System. She is using several techniques, from observations to modeling, to understand the...Continue
Dr. Dave Schleicher
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Dr. Dave Schleicher’s major research interests include the physical properties, chemical composition, and behavior of comets.
Dr. Larry Wasserman
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Dr. Larry Wasserman’s major research interests include the study of solar system bodies via occultations and instrument control software. His work on occultations includes the prediction, observation, and analysis of...Continue
Dr. Melodie Kao
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BS Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 2011PhD California Institute of Technology, 2017 Dr. Kao joined Lowell Observatory in 2024, focusing on exo-aurorae and brown dwarf magnetospheres to understand exoplanet magnetism. She...Continue
Dr. Nick Moskovitz
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Dr. Nick Moskovitz’s research involves observations and simple models of minor planets in the solar system. His work has implications for topics ranging from the origin of planets to the...Continue
Dr. Phil Massey
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Dr. Phil Massey studies massive stars (O-type, Wolf-Rayet, yellow and red supergiants), binary stars, young clusters, and the initial mass function. He is the Principal Investigator for the Large Monolithic...Continue
Researchers
Allison Bair
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Allison Bair assists astronomer Dr. David Schleicher with his research on the origins and evolution of comets, with a primary focus on analyzing the chemical composition of comets from Lowell’s...Continue
Brian Skiff
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Brian Skiff has spent nearly 40 years at Lowell Observatory as an observer and research assistant. Among Skiff'’s accomplishments at Lowell is the vital role he played in the decade-long...Continue
Dr. Kyler Kuehn
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Dr, Kyler Kuehn oversees management of Lowell Observatory’s science telescopes and related equipment. He also actively pursues both observational and instrumentation research.
Dr. Ryan Hamilton
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Dr. Stephen Levine
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Dr. Stephen Levine coordinates the operation of the Lowell Discovery Telescope and also carries out research focused on large astrometric surveys that measure the positions and movements of stars.
Dr. Timothy Ellsworth-Bowers
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Post-Doctoral Researchers
Dr. Alex Polanski
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AS El Camino Community College, 2017 BS University of California, Santa Barbara, 2019 PhD University of Kansas, 2024 Dr. Alex Polanski is a postdoctoral researcher at Lowell where he uses...Continue
Dr. Clara Brasseur
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Stellar Astronomy PhD, 2025, University of St. Andrews Dr. Brasseur joined Lowell Observatory in October 2025 as an NSF Astronomy and Astrophysics Postdoctoral Fellow. Her research interests include stellar and...Continue
Dr. Kate Minker
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Planetary Astronomer PhD, 2025, the Université Côte d'Azur Dr. Kate Minker research focuses on small bodies in the Solar System. In particular, she studies the binarity, shape, and collisional history...Continue
Dr. Momo Ellwarth
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Dr. Momo Ellwarth is a postdoctoral researcher at Lowell Observatory, where she has been working since January 2025 at the intersection of solar physics and extreme precision radial velocity (EPRV)...Continue
Dr. Quicheng Zhang
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BS University of California, Santa Barbara, 2017PhD California Institute of Technology, 2024 Dr. Qicheng Zhang studies the behavior of comets and asteroids near the Sun to better understand the formation...Continue
Research Assistants & Students
Breelyn Cocke
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Working with Dr. Phil Massey
Cassie Beaumont
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Working with Dr. Phil Massey Ms Cassie Beaumont is an undergraduate at Northern Arizona University majoring in Physics and Astrophysics. They began working as a Lowell Research Assistant in Phil’s...Continue
Sam Hemmelgarn
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Working with Dr. Nick Moskovitz BS Arizona State University, 2007BS Northern Arizona University, 2023 Sam joined Lowell Observatory as a research assistant for the Lowell Observatory Cameras for All-Sky Meteor...Continue
Thomas Kelly
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Adjunct & Emeritus
Dr. Kaspar von Braun
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Dr. von Braun's research concentrates on the characterization of extrasolar planets via their host stars. After finishing his degree at Michigan, Dr. von Braun worked as a Carnegie Fellow at...Continue
Dr. Nat White
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Dr. Nat White’s major research interests include the measurement of stellar properties using lunar occultations and the development of astronomical instrumentation, high-angular-resolution astronomy. Until his retirement in 2007, he was...Continue
Dr. Otto Franz
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Dr. Otto Franz’s research specialty is investigating binary stars to expand our knowledge of stellar masses and better understand their formation and evolution. He is one of the first astronomers...Continue
Dr. Wes Lockwood
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Dr. Wes Lockwood’s major research interests include the luminosity variations of the sun, solar and stellar activity cycles, the effects of solar variations on Earth’s weather and climate, and long-term...Continue
