›Exoplanet and the Kepler Mission Update

TOPIC

Howell’s presentation will include an update on the groundbreaking space telescope mission with recent results on exoplanets and the implications for life in the universe.

BIO

Steve Howell is a member of the Kepler Science Team and specializes in research on variable and binary stars, CCD detectors and instrumentation , and ultra-high precision photometry. He developed the practice of differential photometry using CCDs and has applied the technique to ground-based exo-planet transit detections obtaining, to date, the highest precision photometry yet achieved.

Howell is involved in educational outreach programs, especially those involving multi-wavelength astronomy, using ground-based and space based telescopes. He serves on numerous review panels and was most recently a member of the National Academy of Sciences panel on NASA’s constellation system.

Howell worked with NASA headquarters to help establish the Kepler guest observer office at the NASA Ames Research Center and now works as project scientist of the Kepler mission.