Dr. Gáspár Bakos

Professor

Build a Statement of Purpose

Generate a tailored SOP for Dr. Gáspár Bakos. Improve your application with a focused, well-structured draft.

Biography

Gáspár Bakos is a professor in the Department of Astrophysical Sciences at Princeton University, focusing on research related to extrasolar planets and instrumentation, particularly with small telescopes. He is the Principal Investigator of the HATNet extrasolar planet search, which has been running since 2003 and has led to the discovery of over 70 transiting exoplanets, including HAT-P-1b and HAT-P-70b. His work with the HATSouth project involves running telescopes across the Southern Hemisphere in countries such as Chile, Namibia, and Australia, where they gather data continuously. Bakos is also developing a new project called HATPI, aimed at monitoring the entire visible sky from Chile with high cadence and photometric precision. His background includes serving as an astrophysicist at the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics and being a National Science Foundation Fellow and a Hubble Fellow. He earned his PhD from Eötvös University in Budapest in 2004, after majoring in physics and astronomy as an undergraduate. Bakos is an advocate for reducing light pollution from low-earth orbit satellites and has initiated petitions addressing this concern.

Research Interests

Experience

Professor

2011-01-01 — Present

Princeton University • Princeton, NJ, USA

Teaching and conducting research in astrophysical sciences.

Astrophysicist

2010-01-01 — 2011-01-01

Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics • Cambridge, MA, USA

Conducted research in astrophysics.

NSF Fellow

2007-01-01 — 2010-01-01

National Science Foundation • USA

Fellowship in astrophysics.

Hubble Fellow

2004-01-01 — 2007-01-01

• USA

Held a prestigious postdoctoral fellowship.

Predoctoral Fellow

2001-01-01 — 2004-01-01

• USA

Conducted research prior to PhD completion.

Requirements for Princeton University

Doctorate Program
Requirements
GPA Requirement
Required:3
GRE General
TOEFL
Speaking
Required:27
IELTS
Speaking
Required:8
Prerequisites
Bachelor's degree in engineering or science Strong background in mathematics, materials, physics, or related engineering
Application Checklist
  • Academic Statement of Purpose
  • Personal Statement
  • Resume/CV
  • Three Letters of Recommendation
  • Transcripts
  • Application Fee
Specialization Notes

GRE scores are not accepted. Ph.D. is the primary degree; students are not required to hold an M.S.E. prior to admission.