Thomas Dudley Cabot Research Professor of the Natural Sciences, Harvard University
Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics (CfA)
Cambridge, MA 02138, U.S.A.
email: rnarayan@cfa.harvard.edu
Ph.D. (Physics), 1979, Bangalore University, India (Advisor: Professor S. Ramaseshan)
M.Sc. (Physics), 1973, Bangalore University, India
B.Sc. (Physics), 1971, Madras University, India
Professor Emeritus, Department of Astronomy, Harvard University (July 2026--)
Principal Investigator, Black Hole Initiative, Harvard University (September 2016--)
Professor, Department of Astronomy, Harvard University (February 1991--June 2026)
Senior Astronomer, Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory (February 1991--June 2026)
Chair, Department of Astronomy, Harvard University (July 1997--June 2001)
Associate Director, Theoretical Astrophysics Division, Center for Astrophysics (April 1996--May 1997)
Professor, Department of Astronomy, University of Arizona (August 1990--January 1991)
Associate Professor, Deptartment of Astronomy, University of Arizona (September 1985--July 1990)
Senior Research Fellow, Caltech (October 1984--August 1985)
Postdoctoral Associate, Caltech (September1983--September 1984)
Scientific Officer, Raman Research Institute, Bangalore, India (September 1978--August 1983)
National Science Talent Scholar, India, 1968--1977
Young Associate Award, Indian Academy of Sciences, 1983--1986
Presidential Young Investigator Award, National Science Foundation, 1989--1994
Freeman Dyson Visiting Professor, Institute for Advanced Study, Princeton, 1996
S. Datta Majumdar Memorial Lecture, Indian Institute of Technology, Kharagpur, India, 2000
W. M. Keck Distinguished Visiting Professor, Institute for Advanced Study, Princeton, 2001--2002
Kingsley Lecture, Californian Institute of Technology, 2001
Biermann Lecturer, Max Planck Institut fur Astrophysik, Germany, 2002
George Darwin Lecture, Royal Astronomical Society (London), 2002
Elected Fellow of the Royal Society (London), 2006
Beatrice M. Tinsley Centennial Visiting Professor, University of Texas, 2008
S. A. Hedlunds and O. Sylwans Public Lecture, Goteborg, Sweden, 2008
Elected Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, 2010
Sackler Lecturer and Visiting Professor, Institute of Astronomy, Cambridge (UK), 2010--11
Hans Jensen Lecture, University of Heidelberg, Germany, 2011
Distinguished Research Chair, Perimeter Institute, Canada, 2012--2018
Lewiner Institute Distinguished Lecture Series, Technion, Haifa, Israel, 2013
Elected Member of the National Academy of Sciences, 2013
Honorary Professor, University of Delhi, India, 2013--
DST-IISc Centenary Chair Professor, Indian Institute of Science, India, 2014--2016
Robert M. Walker Distinguished Lecture, Washington University, St. Louis, 2014
Vainu Bappu Memorial Lecture, Indian Institute of Astrophysics, India, March 2015
Elected Fellow of The World Academy of Sciences, 2015
Elected Honorary Fellow of the Indian Academy of Sciences, 2016
Donald Ross Hamilton Memorial Colloquium, Department of Physics, Princeton University, February 2023
Bishop Lecture, Deptartment of Astronomy, Columbia University, March 2023
Pancharatnam Lecture, Raman Research Institute, Bengaluru (India), January 2024
Elected Fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, 2026
Diamond Achievement Award, National Science Foundation, 2019
Breakthrough Prize in Fundamental Physics, 2020
Einstein Medal, Albert Einstein Society, Berne, 2020
Bruno Rossi Prize, American Astronomical Society, 2020
Nelson P. Jackson Aerospace Award, National Space Club and Foundation, 2020
Royal Astronomical Society Group Award, 2021
Chair (1996--1997) and Member (1993--1998), Advisory Board and Steering Committee, Institute for Theoretical Physics, University of California, Santa Barbara
Member, Committee on Gravitational Physics, National Research Council and National Academy of Sciences, 1997--1999
Member, United States National Committee for the International Astronomical Union (USNC-IAU), 2000--2003
Member, External Visiting Committee, Department of Astronomy, University of Maryland, 2001
Chief Lecturer (with Professor Gary Schmidt), Vatican Summer School, Castel Gandolfo, Italy, July 2001
Chair, Advisory Board, Center for Gravitational Wave Physics, Pennsylvania State University, 2001--2005
Member, Executive Committee, High Energy Astrophysics Division, American Astronomical Society, 2002--2005
Director, Focus Session on ``Astrophysics of Massive Black Hole Coalescence,'' Pennsylvania State University, November 2002
Member, External Advisory Board, Gamma-Ray Burst Program, University of Amsterdam, Netherlands, 2004
Chair (2004--2006) and Member (2002--2007), Fachbeirat (Visiting Committee), Max Planck Institut fur Astrophysik, Germany
Co-Director (with Professors Andrea Ghez, Alyssa Goodman, Josh Grindlay), Advanced Seminar on ``Formation and Evolution of Stars Near the Galactic Center,'' Radcliffe Institute for Advanced Study, 2005
Member, International Review Panel, Cosmology and Gravity Program, Canadian Institute of Advanced Research, 2006 and 2011
Member, Sectional Committees 2, 5, Royal Society (London), 2006--2009
Chair, Visiting Committee, Deptartment of Astrophysical Sciences, Princeton University, 2007
Member, Mathematical and Physical Sciences Advisory Committee (MPSAC) to the National Science Foundation Directorate, 2008--2011
Member, Editorial Board, Annual Reviews of Astronomy and Astrophysics, 2010--2015
Member of the Jury, Infosys Prize in Physical Sciences, 2011--2015
Member, Selection Committee, Shaw Prize in Astronomy, 2011--2015
Member, Program Advisory Committee, Laser Interferometer Gravitational Wave Observatory, 2014--2016
Member, Scientific Advisory Committee, Kavli Institute for Astronomy and Astrophysics, Beijing, 2014--2020
Member, Scientific Advisory Board, Mathematical and Physical Sciences Division, Simons Foundation, 2016--2019
Member, Scientific Advisory Committee, Perimeter Institute for Theoretical Physics, 2017--2021
Member, Strategic Research Review Panel, Institute of Astronomy, University of Cambridge, UK, 2018
Member, Astro2020: Panel on Compact Objects and Energetic Phenomena, Board on Physics and Astronomy, National Academies
Member, Review Panel, Research Institute Center for Astro, Particle and Planetary Physics, New York University Abu Dhabi, 2023
See here for a selection of my more significant (in my biased opinion) research publications