Shri Kulkarni, the George Ellery Hale Professor of Astronomy and Planetary Science at Caltech, has been awarded the Gold Medal of the Royal Astronomical Society. This recognition represents the organization's highest honor, which has been presented annually since 1824. The award cites Kulkarni for his "sustained, innovative and ground-breaking contributions to multi-wavelength transient astrophysics."
Award Recognition
The Gold Medal, conferred by the UK-based Royal Astronomical Society (RAS), acknowledges exceptional contributions to astronomy. The specific citation for Professor Kulkarni highlights his advancements in multi-wavelength transient astrophysics.
Key Discoveries
Professor Kulkarni's career spans over four decades and includes several astronomical discoveries:
- 1982: As a graduate student, he co-discovered the first millisecond pulsar, a rapidly rotating neutron star.
- 1995: With colleagues, he identified the first brown dwarf.
- 1997: His team demonstrated that powerful gamma-ray bursts originate beyond the Milky Way galaxy.
- 2020: He participated in the detection of the first fast radio burst (FRB) within the Milky Way galaxy, an event that suggested magnetars as a potential source for these flares.
Observatory Projects and Instrumental Contributions
Kulkarni built 10 instruments throughout his career. He also led the development of major astronomical facilities:
- Palomar Transient Factory (PTF): An initial survey project.
- Zwicky Transient Facility (ZTF): The successor to PTF, based at Caltech's Palomar Observatory.
These facilities have documented thousands of cosmic events and continue to survey the entire Northern sky every two nights. These projects are noted for advancing time-domain astrophysics at optical wavelengths, enabling the detection of phenomena such as supernovae, asteroids, and flaring stars.
Ongoing Research
Professor Kulkarni is involved in future research initiatives:
- NASA's Ultraviolet Explorer (UVEX) Mission: Scheduled for launch around 2030, this mission aims to conduct a sensitive ultraviolet sky survey.
- Z-Shooter: As principal investigator, Kulkarni is overseeing the development of this versatile spectrometer for the W. M. Keck Observatory in Hawai'i, with first light anticipated in 2029.
Career and Background
Born in Maharashtra, India, Kulkarni earned his master's degree from the Indian Institute of Technology Delhi in 1978, followed by a PhD from UC Berkeley in 1983. He joined Caltech in 1985 as a Millikan Fellowship recipient and became faculty in 1987. He was named the George Ellery Hale Professor in 2017. His administrative roles at Caltech included serving as executive officer for astronomy (1997-2000) and director of Caltech Optical Observatories (2006-2018).
Additional Honors and Memberships
Professor Kulkarni's previous accolades include the Shaw Prize, the National Science Foundation's Alan T. Waterman Award, and the Dan David Prize. He is a member of several scientific organizations, including the US National Academy of Sciences, the Royal Society of London, the Indian Academy of Sciences, and the Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences.