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Chris Theissen is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Astronomy & Astrophysics at the University of California, San Diego. His research centers on studying the habitability of low-mass stars and brown dwarfs. He is deeply interested in using low-mass stars as tracers for galactic kinematics, age, metallicity, and related fields. Chris is also exploring machine learning and artificial intelligence approaches in object classification and generation surveys, as well as exoplanet detection and stellar/sub-stellar characterization. Born of Peruvian-German descent, he grew up in sunny San Diego and developed a passion for astrophysics during his time at community college. After working as a mechanic, he gained an appreciation for the precision of engineered parts, which further fueled his desire to pursue a career in astronomy. He was inspired by visualizations such as the Hubble Deep Field and literature like Stephen Hawking’s 'A Brief History of Time', which ignited his enthusiasm for exploring the cosmos.
University of California, San Diego • La Jolla, CA
Teaching and conducting research in Astronomy & Astrophysics.
University of California, San Diego • La Jolla, CA
Focused on postdoctoral research.
University of California, San Diego • La Jolla, CA
Conducted research funded by NASA.
University of California, San Diego • La Jolla, CA
Educational outreach and research.
University of California, San Diego • La Jolla, CA
Supported doctoral studies through the Ford Foundation.
Administered by the Scripps Institution of Oceanography. Curricular groups include Climate-Ocean-Atmosphere (COAP), Geosciences (GEO), and Ocean Biosciences (OBP).