Ray Jayawardhana

Ray Jayawardhana is the tenth president of the California Institute of Technology, the Sonja and William Davidow Presidential Chair, and Professor of Astronomy. His research investigates the origin and evolution of planets and planetary systems, as well as the formation of stars and brown dwarfs. Using the largest telescopes on the ground (including the W. M. Keck Observatory, which Caltech co-manages with the University of California) and in space (especially the James Webb Space Telescope), he and his collaborators characterize planets around other stars, or exoplanets, with an eye toward assessing the prospects for life beyond Earth. He is a science team member for the James Webb Space Telescope's NIRISS instrument, and his research group has led Gemini Observatory large programs on high-resolution spectroscopy of exoplanetary atmospheres. He received his bachelor's degree in astronomy and physics from Yale University and a Ph.D. in astronomy from Harvard University. Asteroid 4668 Rayjay is named after him.