Elisabeth Krause

2026 National Award Finalist — Faculty

Elisabeth Krause

Current Position:
Professor of Astronomy and Physics

Institution:
University of Arizona

Discipline:
Astrophysics & Cosmology

Recognized for: Leading the analysis of galaxy surveys and gravitational lensing measurements to deliver the most precise tests of dark energy and the universe's expansion.

Areas of Research Interest and Expertise:
Cosmology, Astrophysics, Data Science 

Previous Positions:

Associate Professor, University of Arizona
Assistant Professor, University of Arizona
Postdoctoral Researcher, California Institute of Technology (Advisor: Olivier Doré)
Kavli Fellow, Stanford University
Postdoctoral Researcher, University of Pennsylvania (Advisor: Bhuvnesh Jain)
PhD, California Institute of Technology (Advisor: Chris Hirata)

Research Summary:

One of the biggest puzzles in physics is that the universe is not only expanding, but speeding up, driven by a mysterious force called dark energy. Elisabeth Krause, PhD is developing mathematical methods that turn huge galaxy surveys and measurements of how gravity bends light into precise tests of how the universe behaves. Leading major international collaborations, Krause has produced some of the tightest limits yet on dark energy and on how cosmic structure grows, helping reveal what the universe is made of and how it changes over time.

“It's an exciting time to be a cosmologist. We'll soon have more precise maps of the Universe than ever, plus the computing power to analyze them. Human ingenuity in building models and understanding the Universe will be more important than ever.”

Key Publications:

  1. C.-H. To, E. Krause, E. Rozo et al. (DES Collaboration). Dark Energy Survey Year 1 Results: Cosmological Constraints from Cluster Abundances, Weak Lensing, and Galaxy Correlations. Physics Review Letters, 2021.
  2. T.M.C. Abbott et al (DES Collaboration , incl. E. Krause). Dark Energy Survey Year 3 results: Cosmological constraints from galaxy clustering and weak lensing. Physics Review D, 2022.
  3. Beyond-2pt Collaboration: E. Krause, Y. Kobayashi, A.N. Salcedo et al. A Parameter-masked Mock Data Challenge for Beyond-two-point Galaxy Clustering Statistics. Astrophysical Journal, 2025.
  4. Pranjal RS., E. Huff, E. Krause et al. Kinematic lensing inference II. Cluster lensing with O(1) galaxies. Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society, 2025.

Other Honors:

2022 Early Career Award, Universities Research Association
2021 Sloan Research Fellowship, Alfred P. Sloan Foundation
2020 Packard Fellowship, David and Lucile Packard Foundation
2020 Maria Goeppert-Mayer Award, American Physical Society (APS)
2019 Early Career Research Award, Department of Energy
2018 Young Scientist Award, International Union of Pure and Applied Physics (IUPAP) – Astrophysics

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