Our faculty are recognized internationally for research and service to the astronomical community. They serve in many prestigious national and international positions of leadership, including professional organizations, journals, and government advisory bodies. They have received peer awards placing them at the top of their fields in research achievement.
Professors teach courses at all levels and actively engage in public outreach.
Research Facilities and Programs. UW Astronomy is a leading participant in several innovative, world-class astronomical research facilities. These programs have impact not just on faculty research, but on the undergraduate and graduate educational programs and public outreach efforts. Our 3.5m telescope is the prototype of the lightweight, low cost, remotely operated university telescope, and we have deployed its unique capabilities to cutting-edge research programs studying phenomena from asteroids and extrasolar planets to supernovae and cosmic acceleration. The department has become a leader in computational astrophysics, pioneering software development in simulations of cosmic evolution from the solar system to the very largest scale structures in the Universe.