Daniel Apai is an astrophysicist and astrobiologist specializing in studies of extrasolar planets with the long-term goal of identifying planetary systems capable of supporting life. He holds an appointment as Professor of Astronomy at the Steward Observatory and Professor of Planetary Science at the Lunar and Planetary Laboratory of The University of Arizona. Apai is also the Associate Dean for Research at the College of Science at The University of Arizona. Among other honots, Apai is elected Fellow of the AAAS and The Explorers Club.
Curriculum Vitae: Daniel Apai’s Curriculum Vitae
He authored of over 220 refereed research papers that received more than 15,000 citations. He is leading major programs on some of the largest ground- and space-based telescopes, and co-leads a technology development program to enable a new generation of very large space telescopes.
Dr Apai is the Principal Investigator of the Alien Earths, a major NASA-funded astrobiology research team exploring the potential of nearby planetary systems for supporting life. He is also the principal investigator of the Nautilus Space Telescope, a novel space mission concept designed for a very large-scale biosignature survey, utilizing ultralight-weight optics and a telescope array with a light-collecting area equivalent to that of a 50m diameter space telescope.
Dr Apai served on a number of science advisory boards and steering committees shaping science strategy for several of the largest astronomical projects. His roles include serving as Chair of the HST-TESS Strategy Committee for the Space Telescope Science Institute, member of the Science Advisory Board for the Giant Magellan Telescope, Science Advisory Committee for the Vatican Observatory. He also served as Executive Committee member of the NASA Exoplanet Exploration Program’s Program Analysis Group (where he also chaired SAG15 study), and as Co-Lead of the NASA Nexus for Exoplanet Science Steering Committee.
Education and Training
Daniel Apai has studied Physics at the University of Szeged in Hungary, and obtained a PhD in Astrophysics from the University of Heidelberg for research carried out at the Max Planck Institute for Astronomy. He has been a postdoctoral researcher at the University of Arizona with the NASA Astrobiology Institute. He moved to the Space Telescope Science Institute as assistant astronomer in 2008, where he was member of the Science Policy Group. In 2011 he moved to the University of Arizona as faculty. He is currently Professor of Astronomy and Planetary Science and Associate Dean for Research at the College of Science.
Apai was co-editor of the book Protoplanetary Dust and a consultant for the children’s book Stars. He has organized and co-organized many international conferences and workshops, several of which has focused on developing the links between studies of extrasolar planetary systems and the Solar System, in context of astrobiology.
His work has been featured in various online and printed media.
Travel and Photography
In my free time, I enjoy reading, traveling, and photography.