Charlie Conroy
2025 National Award Finalist — Faculty
Current Position:
Professor of Astronomy
Institution:
Harvard University
Discipline:
Astrophysics & Cosmology
Recognized for: Advancing our understanding of the history of our galaxy’s formation, giving us insight into how the Milky Way’s dark matter distribution is linked to its early history.
Areas of Research Interest and Expertise:
Galaxy Evolution, Stellar Evolution, Cosmology
Previous Positions:
BA, University of California Berkley
PhD, Princeton University (Advisor: Jim Gunn)
Junior Fellow of the Society of Fellows, Harvard University
Assistant Professor, University of California Santa Cruz
Assistant Professor, Harvard University
Associate Professor, Harvard University
Professor, Harvard University
Research Summary:
Galactic surveys that map stellar populations and properties are a crucially important tool in an astronomer’s toolbox. This stands particularly true for astronomer Charlie Conroy, PhD, who is using a survey of more than 300,000 Milky Way stars to extract information about its formation history and trace out our galaxy’s dark matter. The innovative tools and techniques developed by Conroy have given us our first glimpse at evidence of a dark matter “wake” arising from gravitational interactions with a nearby companion galaxy, offering a promising path forward in furthering our understanding of this mysterious substance permeating through the universe.
“Dark matter is a mysterious substance that determines the overall structure and evolution of the universe. I am excited to be leading a new project using some of the largest telescopes on earth to pin down the 'what' and 'where' of dark matter, which may eventually help us answer the most fundamental question of all: 'why dark matter?'”
Key Publications:
- R. Naidu, C. Conroy, et al., Evidence from the H3 Survey That the Stellar Halo Is Entirely Comprised of Substructure, ApJ, 2020.
- C. Conroy, P. van Dokkum, Counting Low-Mass Stars in Integrated Light, ApJ, 2012.
- A. Bonaca, C. Conroy, et al., Gaia Reveals a Metal-Rich, In-Situ Component of the Local Stellar Halo, ApJ, 2017.
- C. Conroy, A. Bonaca, et al., Mapping the Stellar Halo with the H3 Spectroscopic Survey, ApJ, 2019.
Other Honors:
2017 Helen B. Warner Prize, American Astronomical Society
2013 Alfred P. Sloan Fellow, Sloan Foundation
2013 Packard Foundation Fellow, Packard Foundation