Scott Gaudi is Thomas Jefferson Professor for Discovery and Space Exploration and University Distinguished Scholar for the Department of Astronomy. He is a pioneer in the discovery and research of extrasolar planets using transit and gravitational microlensing.
In 2008, Gaudi along with his collaborators announced the discovery of the first Jupiter/Saturn analog using Gravitational Microlensing. This method relies on the gravitational force of distant objects to bend and focus light coming from a star, and these planets could not have been detected with other techniques. This planetary system resembles a scaled version of our solar system in that the mass ratio, separation ratio, and equilibrium temperatures of the planets are similar to those of Jupiter and Saturn.
Gaudi received the Helen B. Warner Prize of the American Astronomical Society and the Presidential Early Career Award from the National Science Foundation. Additionally, he has been awarded the honorable NASA Outstanding Public Leadership Medal in 2016 and 2017. Gaudi has also been named one of “20 Young Scientists to Watch” by Discover magazine.