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Charles Liu
Headshot of an Asian-American man with short salt and pepper hair and glasses, wearing a read shirt and jacket, standing in front of a chartreuse evergreen bush
American astronomer and astronomy educator Charles Liu, 2023
Born
劉俊初 (Liu Tsun Chu)

1968
Taipei, Taiwan
CitizenshipUnited States
EducationHarvard University
University of Arizona
OccupationAstronomer
SpouseDr. Amy Rabb-Liu
Children3
Parents
  • Fu-wen (Frank) Liu (father)
  • Jui-chi (Janice) Liu (mother)
AwardsAAS Fellow, 2019
AAS Education Prize, 2024
Scientific career
FieldsAstronomy, physics
InstitutionsThe College of Staten Island and the Graduate Center of the City University of New York
Websitehttps://www.youtube.com/channel/UC5xPREWOS4n-ofQsx0GzIsQ

Charles Tsun-Chu Liu is a Taiwanese-born American astronomer and astronomy educator. His research interests include merging and colliding galaxies, active galactic nuclei, and the star formation history of the universe. He is a former director of the William E. Macaulay Honors College and The Verrazano School at the City University of New York's College of Staten Island.[1] He currently serves as a professor of physics and astronomy at the College of Staten Island, and as President of the Astronomical Society of New York. Liu is the 2024 winner of the American Astronomical Society's (AAS) prestigious Education Prize, and was named an AAS fellow in 2019.[2]

Biography

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Early life

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Liu was born in Taipei, Taiwan to Fu-Wen (Frank) Liu, a professor of pomology and horticulture,[3] and Jui-Chi (Janice) Liu, a nurse of obstetrics and midwifery, both of Dahu, Miaoli, Taiwan. He is the second of three children; his older sister, Grace, is a retired banker, and his younger brother, Henry, is a family physician. His family immigrated to the United States when Liu was four years old, and all of them were naturalized as U.S. citizens in 1980. He attended Harvard, graduating with a bachelor’s degree in astronomy and astrophysics and physics, and the University of Arizona, graduating with a Ph.D. in astronomy. He then held postdoctoral positions at Kitt Peak National Observatory and Columbia, where he conducted research on galaxy evolution and the star formation history of the universe.

Career

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In 1998, Liu joined the scientific staff of the Hayden Planetarium at the American Museum of Natural History, where he helped design and develop the exhibitry and scientific content of the Rose Center for Earth and Space. During this time, with co-authors Neil deGrasse Tyson and Robert W. Irion, Liu wrote "One Universe: At Home In The Cosmos (2000)", for which Tyson, Irion, and Liu were awarded the 2001 Science Writing Award (scientist category) of the American Institute of Physics.[4]

In 2003, Liu joined the faculty of the CUNY College of Staten Island (CSI). He was subsequently appointed to the consortial faculty of the physics doctoral program of the CUNY Graduate Center.[5][6] In 2008, Liu became director of The Verrazano School Honors Program at CSI. In 2012, he also became director of the William E. Macaulay Honors College at CSI. He served as director of both of those programs until 2018.[7]

In 2015, Liu was elected as Education Officer of the American Astronomical Society, serving also as a Councilor and Trustee of the Society until 2018.[8] He was elected as President of the Astronomical Society of New York in 2016,[9] and was named a Fellow of the American Astronomical Society in 2019.[10]

Liu won the prestigious AAS Education Prize in 2024,[11] which celebrated “his national and international impact as an enthusiastic astronomy educator throughout his career — including his contributions to informal education via his work at the American Museum of Natural History, his numerous popular science books, and his podcast ‘The LIUniverse’; as well as his contributions to formal education as a professor and mentor. The award also recognizes his service to the astronomy education community as AAS Education Officer and inaugural Chair of the AAS Education Committee.”[12]

Research

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Liu is one of the original team members of the Cosmic Evolution Survey (COSMOS), the largest contiguous deep field ever observed with the Hubble Space Telescope. His work on that project has focused on faint, strongly star-forming galaxies. In 2015, he also joined the Mapping Nearby Galaxies at APO (MaNGA) project of the Sloan Digital Sky Survey, where he has been studying galaxies whose star formation activity has been quenched within approximately the past one billion years.[13]

Since 2016, Liu has served on the Vera C. Rubin Observatory Science Advisory Committee,[14] where he is involved with galaxy evolution research.[15]

Personal life

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Liu has been married to the mathematician and educator Dr. Amy Rabb-Liu since 1991. They have three children: Hannah, Allen, and Isaac.[7]

Selected Bibliography

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2000: One Universe: at Home in the Cosmos (with Neil DeGrasse Tyson and Robert Irion)[16]

2004: The Handy Astronomy Answer Book[17]

2013: The Handy Astronomy Answer Book, Third Edition[18]

2017: StarTalk: everything you ever need to know about space travel, sci-fi, the human race, the universe, and beyond (with Neil DeGrasse Tyson)[19]

2019: 30-second universe: 50 most significant ideas, theories and events that sum up... everything (with Karen Masters and Sevil Salur)[20]

2020: The Handy Physics Answer Book[21]

2021: 30-Second Space Travel: 50 key ideas, inventions, and destinations that have inspired humanity toward the heavens (with Karen Masters and Allen Liu)[22]

2021: Intro to Physics for Babies [23]

2022: The Cosmos Explained: A history of the universe from its beginning to today and beyond[24]

2024: The Handy Quantum Physics Answer Book[25]

References

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  1. ^ "Bio". VisibleInkPress.com. Retrieved 2020-08-06.
  2. ^ "Past Officers and Trustees | American Astronomical Society". aas.org.
  3. ^ "Charles Liu, Course Author | AMNH".
  4. ^ "Charles Liu". World Science Festival. Retrieved 2021-01-23.
  5. ^ City University of New York. "Head of the Class College of Staten Island" (PDF). Salute to Scholars. Spring 2013: 24.
  6. ^ "As a Writer and a Teacher, He Invites Us to Contemplate the Universe". www.gc.cuny.edu.
  7. ^ a b Mares, Terry. "Renowned Astrophysicist and CSI Professor Named Director of Two of CSI's Flagship Honors Programs".
  8. ^ "Candidate Statement: Charles Liu | American Astronomical Society". aas.org.
  9. ^ "Astronomical Society of New York". Astrony.org.
  10. ^ "AAS Fellows". American Astronomical Society.
  11. ^ "Charles Liu Wins Prestigious AAS Education Prize". CSI Today. Feb 20, 2024.
  12. ^ "AAS Honors, Grants & Prizes". American Astronomical Society.
  13. ^ "CUNY Matters" (PDF). Cuny.edu. 2007. Retrieved 2020-08-06.
  14. ^ "Welcome to the Science Advisory Committee for LSST | Rubin Observatory Science Advisory Committee". project.lsst.org. Retrieved 2024-10-03.
  15. ^ Bianco, Federica B.; Ivezić, Željko; Jones, R. Lynne; Graham, Melissa L.; Marshall, Phil; Saha, Abhijit; Strauss, Michael A.; Yoachim, Peter; Ribeiro, Tiago; Anguita, Timo; Bauer, A. E.; Bauer, Franz E.; Bellm, Eric C.; Blum, Robert D.; Brandt, William N. (2022-01-01). "Optimization of the Observing Cadence for the Rubin Observatory Legacy Survey of Space and Time: A Pioneering Process of Community-focused Experimental Design". The Astrophysical Journal Supplement Series. 258 (1): 1. arXiv:2108.01683. Bibcode:2022ApJS..258....1B. doi:10.3847/1538-4365/ac3e72. ISSN 0067-0049.
  16. ^ Tyson, Neil deGrasse; Liu, Charles; Irion, Robert, eds. (2000). One universe: at home in the cosmos. Washington, D.C: Joseph Henry Press. ISBN 978-0-309-06488-0.
  17. ^ Liu, Charles (2008). The Handy Astronomy Answer Book. The Handy Answer Book Series (1st ed.). Visible Ink Press. ISBN 978-1243466303.
  18. ^ Liu, Charles (2013). The Handy Astronomy Answer Book (3rd ed.). Visible Ink Press. ISBN 978-1578594191.
  19. ^ Tyson, Neil deGrasse; Liu, Charles; Simons, Jeffrey Lee, eds. (2017). Startalk: everything you ever need to know about space travel, sci-fi, the human race, the universe, and beyond (Young Readers ed.). Washington, D.C: National Geographic. ISBN 978-1-4263-3087-2.
  20. ^ Liu, Charles; Masters, Karen; Salur, Sevil (2019). 30-second universe: 50 most significant ideas, theories and events that sum up... everything. Brighton: Ivy Press. ISBN 9781782408505.
  21. ^ Liu, Charles (2021). The handy physics answer book (3rd ed.). Detroit: Visible Ink Press. ISBN 978-1-57859-717-8.
  22. ^ Liu, Charles; Masters, Karen; Liu, Allen (2021). 30-Second Space Travel: 50 key ideas, inventions, and destinations that have inspired humanity toward the heavens. Brighton: Ivy Press. ISBN 978-1782409786.
  23. ^ Liu, Charles (2021). Intro to Physics for Babies. Rockridge Press. ISBN 978-1647396855.
  24. ^ Liu, Charles (2022-04-12). The cosmos explained: a history of the universe from its beginning to today and beyond. London: Ivy Press. ISBN 978-0-7112-5274-5.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: date and year (link)
  25. ^ Liu, Charles (2024). The handy quantum physics answer book. Canton, MI: Visible Ink. ISBN 978-1578598052.
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