Dr. Melodie Kao
Mission Scientist
BS Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 2011
PhD 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 uses major U.S. facilities like the Very Large Array, the Keck Telescope, the Hubble Space Telescope, and the James Webb Space Telescope. She enjoys designing experiments, teaching workshops, and public speaking.
Outside of research, Dr. Kao leads backpacking trips and enjoys running, dancing, and reading. She believes that science skills apply in unexpected places and dedicates herself to teaching others how to find surprising connections between different fields. She co-created the Wilderness Astronomy course at ASU and teaches scientists how to dance, exploring leadership and team building through her guide work.
Astronomers
Dr. Audrey Thirouin
{acf_card_label}
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…
Dr. Dave Schleicher
{acf_card_label}
Dr. Dave Schleicher’s major research interests include the physical properties, chemical composition, and behavior of comets.
Dr. Larry Wasserman
{acf_card_label}
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…
Dr. Nick Moskovitz
{acf_card_label}
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…
Dr. Phil Massey
{acf_card_label}
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…
Researchers
Allison Bair
{acf_card_label}
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…
Brian Skiff
{acf_card_label}
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…
Dr. Kyler Kuehn
{acf_card_label}
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
{acf_card_label}
Dr. Stephen Levine
{acf_card_label}
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
{acf_card_label}
Post-Doctoral Researchers
Dr. Alex Polanski
{acf_card_label}
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…
Dr. Clara Brasseur
{acf_card_label}
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…
Dr. Kate Minker
{acf_card_label}
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…
Dr. Momo Ellwarth
{acf_card_label}
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)…
Dr. Quicheng Zhang
{acf_card_label}
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…
Research Assistants & Students
Breelyn Cocke
{acf_card_label}
Working with Dr. Phil Massey
Cassie Beaumont
{acf_card_label}
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…
Sam Hemmelgarn
{acf_card_label}
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…
Thomas Kelly
{acf_card_label}
Adjunct & Emeritus
Dr. Deidre Hunter
{acf_card_label}
Dr. Deidre Hunter’s primary scientific interest is tiny irregular galaxies — how they originate, evolve, and produce stars and star clusters, and how they are shaped. Her approach is multi-wavelength,…
Dr. Kaspar von Braun
{acf_card_label}
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…
Dr. Nat White
{acf_card_label}
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…
Dr. Otto Franz
{acf_card_label}
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…
Dr. Wes Lockwood
{acf_card_label}
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…
