Nationally recognized astrophysicist to head UGA physics department

In January 2027, distinguished Astrophysicist Keivan Stassun will take over as head of The University of Georgia’s Department of Physics and Astronomy. Stassun previously worked as a professor at Vanderbilt University and was a founding co-director of the Fisk-Vanderbilt Masters-to-Ph.D Bridge program. The program is designed to increase the number of minorities receiving advanced degrees in STEM fields, and has been recreated by other universities across the nation. Stassun also founded the Frist Center for Autism and Innovation in 2018 through Vanderbilt. The center employs a wide range of experts to help neurodivergent people find long-term, strength-based employment. Stassun was awarded the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Fellowship in 2024 for his work in increasing opportunities in STEM fields for underrepresented communities. The nomination-only fellowship provides quarterly payments adding up to $800,000 over five years to be used for any purpose. Jared Maller, a physics doctorate candidate at UGA, said he has observed excitement from both students and faculty about the hiring decision. “I think the biggest impact will be on younger students,” Maller said. “Whatever changes he implements, whatever faculty he's able to bring in, whatever connections he has, those will be opportunities for new students.” The first thing that Stassun plans to do is to map out the future of the Center for Simulational Physics (CSP). David P. Landau, who founded the center in 1986, retired in August. “[This is] an opportunity to chart a new course, put the CSP on a path for the next 40 years,” Stassun said. He said the department has been hiring and will continue to hire more faculty members and teachers, including experts in computational astrophysics, quantum computing and professors to support the Small Satellite Research Lab — a lab he calls “one of the crown jewels of the Department of Physics and Astronomy.” Stassun said his decision to work at UGA was partially informed by his education at other public flagship universities, including University of California, Berkeley and University of Wisconsin–Madison. “UGA is a great university,” Stassun said. “After 20 years at a great private university, it's a great time in our nation's history and a great time in my career to return to the civic mission of a flagship university serving the residents of the state.”