14^th Annual Kepler Scholarship
and Lectures Series Event

(2023) Steph Sallum – UC Irvine, Assistant Professor of Physics and Astronomy

Steph Sallum is an observational astronomer and instrumentalist who studies exoplanets (planets around stars other than our own Sun) with high resolution imaging, spectroscopy, and interferometry. She uses cutting edge imaging techniques on the world's largest telescopes to better understand how planets form and evolve. She is also the Project Scientist for SCALES, an under-construction instrument for the 10-meter telescopes at Keck Observatory that will enhance our ability to characterize exoplanet atmospheres. Beyond Keck observing and instrumentation development, Steph is involved in early James Webb Space Telescope observations of exoplanets, and in instrument development for the next generation of 30-meter-class ground-based telescopes. Before joining the faculty at UCI, Steph was an NSF Astronomy and Astrophysics Postdoctoral Fellow and a UC Chancellor's fellow at UC Santa Cruz. She received her PhD in Astronomy and Astrophysics from the University of Arizona, and a BS in Planetary Science and Physics from MIT.