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Kevin Burdge is an observational astrophysicist focused on discovering and characterizing compact binary systems, including pairs of stellar remnants such as white dwarfs, neutron stars, and black holes. These systems provide exceptional laboratories for exploring compact-object physics, accretion processes, stellar evolution, and explosive cosmic events like Type Ia supernovae. His research leverages next-generation observatories, including the Vera Rubin Observatory and the Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope, as well as the upcoming Laser Interferometer Space Antenna (LISA), to discover and study large, diverse populations of compact binaries. The Burdge group aims to understand how these systems form and evolve, and how they influence their cosmic environments by combining gravitational-wave detections with multi-wavelength electromagnetic observations. His team has significantly expanded the known population of gravitational-wave sources detectable by LISA by identifying rare binary systems with exotic merger remnants, offering unique opportunities to test general relativity models and theories of binary evolution. Burdge's discovery-driven work is supported by innovative GPU-based algorithms developed by his group. He has used Gaia astrometry to discover a known black hole triple-star system and maintains a strong interest in X-ray binary systems. Additionally, he develops specialized astronomical instrumentation, including an ultrafast “Lightspeed” camera for Magellan telescopes, enabling rapid photometric studies of faint, fast astrophysical phenomena. His pioneering time-domain research with the James Webb Space Telescope investigates dense stellar environments such as globular clusters and the Galactic center to uncover hidden populations of compact binaries. Burdge is also a member of the science team for the Advanced X-ray Imaging Satellite (AXIS), which led the design of a proposed Galactic-plane survey expected to reveal millions of new X-ray sources.