MIT Kavli Institute for Astrophysics and Space Research

The MIT Kavli Institute for Astrophysics and Space Research (MKI) offers a dynamic environment for students, faculty, and researchers to engage in astrophysics and space research, such as cosmology, exoplanets, the first stars and reionization, stars in the Milky Way, dark matter, compact objects, high-energy astrophysics, strong gravity and gravitational radiation, supernovae, neutron stars and black holes, and theoretical astrophysics.

Researchers at MKI use ground-based and space-based observatories to study the nature of the universe and explore the physics of objects in the farthest reaches of space. Funded by both government and private donors, MKI’s brightest minds are at the helm of various projects and missions that probe some of the most enduring mysteries of space.

MKI collaborates with global consortiums to support ongoing missions, such as the Magellan Observatory Consortium in Chile, the Laser Interferometer Gravitational-Wave Observatory (LIGO), the Chandra X-ray Observatory Science Center, and the Hydrogen Epoch of Reionization Array (HERA). MKI also leads the Science Operations Center for the Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite (TESS), a NASA-supported Explorer mission launched in 2018.

MKI’s research engineering includes high-performance computing capabilities with extensive data handling and is steered by engineers and technicians to design, construct, and deploy cutting-edge instrumentation in support of ground-based and space-based missions. 

MKI welcomes graduate and postdoctoral students as the next generation of physicists and astrophysicists to lead this science toward new realms of discovery.

For further information, contact the director, Professor Robert A. Simcoe, 617-253-1456.