Professor of Physics
Rob is the faculty lead for the astronomical instrumentation group at the MIT-Kavli Institute. He teaches in MIT’s Department of Physics and researches the formation of stars and galaxies in the early universe. To this end, he led the construction of the FIRE infrared spectrometer for the 6.5-meter Magellan Telescopes at Las Campanas Observatory, Chile. FIRE has observed galaxies and quasars at redshifts z = 6.0-7.5, when the universe was just 5% of its present age.
Research Interests
- Nucleosynthesis in the early universe / Epoch of Reionization
- Development of Precision Astronomical Instruments
- Chemistry of loosely bound matter in galaxies’ circumgalactic halos
Personal
I am a native of Westborough, MA and live in the Boston area with my wife Pat Udomprasert and our two zany children. I have enjoyed astronomy since as far back as I can remember, and picked up telescope making as a hobby in around the 6th grade when I visited the Stellafane amateur telescope makers convention with my family. In this regard you may have found another Simcoe on the astronomy interweb – my father Robert J is associated with the DASCH plate scanning project at the CfA. We are fortunate also to live near my brother Tim and his family; Tim is a Professor of Strategy and Innovation at the BU School of Management, and recently was a Senior Economist in President Obama’s Council of Economic Advisors.
Coverage and other links
- RS science group website
- Interview on “Science for the Public” documentary series
- RS MIT Faculty profile
- RS 2017 Radcliffe Fellow (2016-17 sabbatical)
- RS “Looking for First Light” feature
- Harvard Crimson
RS Publications