Meet Assistant Professor Jason Wang of the Department of Physics & Astronomy

Weinberg College welcomes Assistant Professor Jason Wang to the Department of Physics and Astronomy!

Wang recently offered insight into his background, research, and what inspired him to pursue his current area of study.

Where are you from? Where did you study?
I grew up in the suburbs of Columbus, Ohio. I did my undergraduate studies at Cornell University (major in Physics) and my graduate studies at UC Berkeley. I have lived in California for the last nine years, so this winter will be an adjustment.

What inspired you to pursue your area of study?
In my lifetime, we have the opportunity to find other planets like our own Earth, and I think that is just so cool.

Please describe your research.
I work on imaging exoplanets, planets orbiting other stars. This is incredibly difficult because exoplanets are tens of thousands to billions of times fainter than their bright host stars. To successfully image these planets, we combine dedicated optics with sophisticated signal processing algorithms to reveal these faint planets next to the glare of their bright host stars. I work on advancing these exoplanet imaging
technologies and using them to understand how planets form and, hopefully in the future, to determine if there are other planets like our own. What are you working on right now that excites you the most?
We are developing a new instrument to obtain spectra of exoplanet atmospheres at the W. M. Keck Observatory located on Maunakea. We can use it to measure individual absorption lines in the planet’s
atmosphere to understand what elements they are made from. Right now, we can only do this on the most massive planets (planets more massive than our own Jupiter), but I am optimistic we can use this
technology to perform spectroscopy of rocky planets on future large telescopes.

How do you enjoy spending your free time?
We just got a dog recently, and I have been enjoying going for walks by the lake with her (except when she gets too distracted by squirrels). I also started learning aerial arts recently and that has been really fun.

What is most fulfilling to you about teaching?
Seeing students excited about learning a new topic, or seeing them apply the course materials in a new,
creative way.