Kareem J. El-Badry
Kareem J. El-Badry
Associate Professor of Astronomy
B.S., Yale University, 2016; Ph.D., University of California, Berkeley, 2021. Visiting Associate, Caltech, 2022-23; Assistant Professor, 2023-26; Associate Professor, 2026-.
Research Interests: binary stars, stellar-mass black holes, neutron stars, white dwarfs, wide-field surveys; near-field cosmology, galactic archaeology, globular clusters; galaxy formation, low-mass galaxies, stellar feedback
Overview
I'm an Assistant Professor of Astronomy at the California Institute of Technology. I am interested in binary stars, black holes, and related stellar exotica. My group uses a combination of large-scale surveys, targeted observations of individual objects, and theoretical stellar evolution calculations to better understand how these objects form, evolve, and interact with their surroundings. I am also interested in Milky Way stellar populations, galaxy formation, and statistical astronomy. Most generally, I like exploring astronomical datasets, learning new things, and developing methods to extract information from data. I have been called the "black hole destroyer" but am working to make my net black hole count positive.
Selected Awards
- MacArthur Fellowship, 2025
- Alfred P. Sloan Research Fellowship, 2025
- New Horizons Solvay Lecturer in Physics, 2025
- IAU Ph.D. Prize, Stars and Stellar Physics Division, 2022
- Mary Elizabeth Uhl Dissertation Prize, Berkeley, 2021
- Outstanding Graduate Student Instructor Award, Berkeley, 2021
Selected Awards
- MacArthur Fellowship, 2025
- Alfred P. Sloan Research Fellowship, 2025
- New Horizons Solvay Lecturer in Physics, 2025
- IAU Ph.D. Prize, Stars and Stellar Physics Division, 2022
- Mary Elizabeth Uhl Dissertation Prize, Berkeley, 2021
- Outstanding Graduate Student Instructor Award, Berkeley, 2021
PhD Thesis: Binary stars across the Milky Way: Probes of star formation and evolution
Related News
Read more newsRelated Courses
Ay 124. Structure and Evolution of Galaxies.
9 units (3-0-6); second term, 2026-27.
Prerequisites: Ay 21; Ph 106 or equivalent (undergraduates).
Stellar dynamics and properties of galaxies; instabilities; spiral and barred galaxies; tidal dynamics and galaxy mergers; stellar composition, masses, kinematics, and structure of galaxies; galactic archeology; galactic star formation; feedback from stars and super-massive black holes; circum-galactic medium.
Instructors: Hopkins, El Badry
Instructors: Hopkins, El Badry
Ay 20. Basic Astronomy and the Galaxy.
9 units (3-1-5); first term, 2026-27.
Prerequisites: Ma 1 abc and Ph 1 abc, or instructor's permission.
The electromagnetic spectrum; ground and space observing techniques; telescopes and basic astrophysical optics; orbits, binary stars and exoplanets; stellar masses and radii, distances, and motions; basic radiative transfer; the HR diagram; the birth, structure, evolution, and death of stars; the structure, contents, and dynamics of the Galaxy. A term project involving the Palomar 60" telescope will introduce astronomical measurement techniques.
Instructor: El-Badry
Instructor: El-Badry