Professor of Astronomy. PHOTO: University of Toledo
Dr. Rupali Chandar, Professor at the College of Natural Sciences and Mathematics at the University of Toledo in Ohio, has been awarded this year the honor of Distinguished University Professor by the University for her continuing research on the origins of the universe.
Chandar is an expert in galactic formations, star clusters and life cycles of dense star clusters, which she has shown to begin to disperse in a few million years as opposed to the existing belief of them lasting for billions of years.
Having joined the faculty at The University of Toledo as an Assistant Professor in the Department of Physics and Astronomy in 2007, Chandar became a Professor in 2016, and currently is the Helen Luedtke Brooks Endowed Professor of Astronomy, and Associate Chair of the Department of Physics and Astronomy.
Chandar has developed a world-class research program to better understand how galaxies like our own evolve and the cycle of matter within galaxies including star and star clusters birth and death. Her research uses observational astronomy data, chiefly from the Hubble Space Telescope, the James Webb Space Telescope, and other facilities.
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Chandra’s research has been funded by National Science Foundation, the James Webb Space Telescope, the Hubble Space Telescope, the Chandra Space Telescope, and observatory missions. She has been the Principal Investigator of 38 projects and Co-Principal Investigator or more than 40 projects. While at the University of Toledo, she has published more than 150 research papers and mentored several post doctoral fellows, graduate and undergraduate students.
Dr. Chandar received her bachelor’s degree from Haverford College and her master’s and doctorate degrees from Johns Hopkins University. She completed postdoctoral fellowships at the STScI and Carnegie Observatories before joining The University of Toledo.
While at the University of Toledo, Chandar has demonstrated excellence in teaching, scholarship and professional contribution and professional service.
The honor of Distinguished University Professors at the University of Toledo is awarded to those who have earned national and international recognition and distinction for educational, artistic and scholarly contributions that have been transformative in their field. They are judged by their peers to be exemplary in teaching and education, in scholarly or creative contribution, and in service to their profession and their community.
The University of Toledo’s astronomy program is highly regarded, ranking as an R1 top-tier institution for very high research activity. It was notably ranked 6th worldwide for successful NASA James Webb Space Telescope proposals in its first cycle and 18th in the Great Lakes region for “Most Focused” astronomy programs.