| Douglas P. Finkbeiner | |
| Birth Date: | 31 March 1971 |
| Fields: | Astrophysics |
| Workplaces: | Harvard University |
| Known For: | Research on the interstellar medium, Map of the Cosmic Microwave Background |
Douglas P. Finkbeiner is astrophysicist known for his contributions to the study of the interstellar medium and the cosmic microwave background (CMB).[1]
Douglas P. Finkbeiner, born in Ann Arbor, Michigan in 1971, graduated from Pioneer High School in 1989. He earned dual majors in physics and German literature from the University of Michigan in 1994.[2]
Douglas P. Finkbeiner received his Ph.D. from the University of California, Berkeley in 1999, under the supervision of Marc Davis and David Schlegel.[3]
Post-Ph.D., he joined Princeton University as a Hubble Fellow and later a Russell-Cotsen Fellow in the Department of Astrophysical Sciences. At Princeton, he contributed to the Sloan Digital Sky Survey by developing a global photometric solution and studied Galactic microwave emissions using the Wilkinson Microwave Anisotropy Probe. His research identified spinning dust emission and the controversial "haze" in the Milky Way, which he speculated could be linked to dark matter annihilation.[4]
In 2006, Finkbeiner joined the faculty at Harvard University, where he is a professor of Astronomy and Physics. Finkbeiner has been involved in various large-scale surveys and projects, including Pan-STARRS and the Dark Energy Spectroscopic Instrument.[5]
Currently, Douglas Finkbeiner is associated with the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics and the Institute for Theory and Computation.[6]