Andrew Vanderburg Receives AAS 2025 Newton Lacy Pierce Prize in Astronomy

Andrew Vanderburg, Assistant Professor of Astronomy at Harvard University, was awarded the AAS 2025 Newton Lacy Pierce Prize in Astronomy during the AAS 247 conference in January 2026. His research focuses on studying exoplanets, or planets which orbit stars other than the Sun. Andrew is interested in developing cutting-edge techniques and methods to discover new planets outside of our solar system, and studying the planets we find to learn their detailed properties. Eventually, he hopes to help answer questions like "Are the planets orbiting other stars throughout the galaxy anything like the worlds in our Solar system?" and "Could any of these planets be hospitable to life like the Earth?"