Joel Kastner
Professor
Joel Kastner
Professor
Education
BS, University of Maryland; MS, Ph.D., University of California
Bio
- Joel Kastner (Ph.D. in Astronomy, UCLA 1990) is a Professor on the faculty of Rochester Institute of Technology’s Center for Imaging Science and School of Physics & Astronomy. He was the founding Director of RIT's Laboratory for Multiwavelength Astrophysics.
- Prior to his two decades at RIT, Prof. Kastner spent almost a decade at MIT, first as Bantrell Postdoc at MIT Haystack Radio Observatory and then as staff scientist with MIT's side of the Chandra (then AXAF) X-ray Science Center.
- Prof. Kastner's research interests lie in the early and late stages of stellar evolution -- i.e., the formative stages of stars and planetary systems, and their death throes. He has conducted observations of forming and dying stars and stellar systems across a broad swath of the electromagnetic spectrum, from radio to X-rays.
- Prof. Kastner was among the original group of (roughly 230) astronomers named as "Legacy" Fellows of the American Astronomical Society in 2020, and presently serves as Chair of the AAS Committee on Employment.
- A complete list of Prof. Kastner's publications can be found at this link to NASA's Astrophysics Data System.
Currently Teaching
In the News
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June 6, 2022
RIT professor earns NASA grant to study baby stars and newborn planets closest to Earth
A team of RIT scientists is poring over NASA data for new insights about Earth’s youngest, closest neighbors. Joel Kastner, a professor in RIT’s Chester F. Carlson Center for Imaging Science and School of Physics and Astronomy, received nearly $400,000 for a NASA archival study to advance our understanding of newly formed stars and planets.
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April 11, 2022
Five mind-blowing Hubble Space Telescope images from the past decade
The New York Post features a Hubble Space Telescope image created by an RIT team led by Joel Kastner, professor in the Chester F. Carlson Center for Imaging Science.
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March 22, 2022
Featured Image: A Cosmic Butterfly Spreads Its Wings
AAS NOVA features a Hubble Space Telescope image created by an RIT team led by Joel Kastner, professor in the Chester F. Carlson Center for Imaging Science.