Joseph R. Schmitt

Astronomy Department
Yale University
P.O. Box 208101
New Haven, CT 06520-8101 USA
joseph.schmitt@yale.edu
1-563-219-0377

• Exoplanets:
  • Discovery of new planets and planet candidates
  • Characterization of exoplanets and their orbits
  • Statistics on populations of exoplanets
• Science policy:
  • Supporting scientifically sound government policies
  • Advocating for increased funding for science as prioritized by scientists themselves
  • Promoting public scientific literacy

• Yale University, New Haven, CT, 2012-present
  Master of Science and Master of Philosophy in Astronomy, 2015
  PhD candidate in Astronomy, expected defense May/June, 2017

Dissertation: "Planet Hunting: The Search for Hidden Planets in the Kepler Field"
• Discovered two new planets (PH3 c and Kepler-150 f) and 24 new planet candidates
• Found the first seven planet candidate system outside of the solar system
• Identified six new stars in the neighborhoods of distant planets
• Science team leader for the Planet Hunters citizen science program
• Analyzing the frequency of planets orbiting the smallest and most abundant type of star
• Searching in multi-planet systems for additional planets hidden in the data

Research assistant:
• Assisted other members of the Planet Hunters science team in the discovery of 67 new planet candidates, including many of the longest period planet candidates ever found
• Aided in the discovery and analysis of KIC 8462852, called “The Most Mysterious Star in Our Galaxy” by The Atlantic and at the center of speculation of “alien megastructures”
• Determined the best method to correct for imperfect modeling of stellar surfaces allowing for more accurate estimates of a star’s mass, radius, age, and other properties
• Supported a citizen scientist on his own scientific publication on eclipsing binary stars


• University of Iowa, Iowa City, IA, 2008-2012
  B.S. in Astronomy and Physics, Latin minor
  Special Honors, With Highest Distinction

Research assistant:
• Measured higher than expected X-ray emission from black holes in small blue galaxies, implying that they were important in heating the early universe

• Christine Mirzayan Science and Technology Policy Graduate Fellow at the National Academy of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine in the Space Studies Board (Jan. 2017 through Apr. 2017)
• Author for Astrobites.org summarizing the latest astronomical research (Dec. 2015 through present)
• Volunteer at the Leitner Family Observatory and Planetarium at Yale University presenting two planetarium shows per week to the public (Sept. 2015 through present)
• Science team leader of the citizen science Planet Hunters program (Nov. 2012 through present)
• Member of the Yale Graduate Student Assembly (Oct. 2012 through present) and member of the Executive Board and Steering Committee (Sept. 2016 through Jan. 2017)
• Volunteer judge in two Annual New Haven Science Fairs (May 2015, May 2016)
• Hosted a Planet Hunters Reddit.com Science Ask Me Anything (AMA) Series with 28,000 unique visitors (July 2015)
• Member of the Organizing Committee for the Emerging Researchers in Exoplanet Science (ERES) Symposium at Penn State University (May 2015)
• Canvassed for House Representative DeLauro and Governor Malloy in the 2014 House Midterm and Connecticut Gubernatorial Election
• Participated in the "Communicating with Washington" program sponsored by the American Astronomical Society speaking to four House of Representatives offices (Nov. 2013)
• Presenter in the University of Iowa Department of Physics and Astronomy Demonstration Shows (Feb. 2009, Feb. 2010)

• Yale University Teaching Fellow:
  Teaching weekly discussion sections, grading homework and exams, and/or leading astronomical labs at the observatory
• 2016, Fall – ASTR 320: Physical Processes in Astronomy
• 2016, Summer – ASTR 120: Galaxies and the Universe
• 2016, Spring – ASTR 120: Galaxies and the Universe
• 2014, Fall – ASTR 130: Origins & the Search for Life in the Universe
• 2013, Fall – ASTR 130: Life in the Universe
• 2013, Spring – ASTR 110: Planets and Stars
• 2012, Fall – ASTR 220: Galaxies and Cosmology
• Tutored a sophomore in high school in algebra and geometry (May, 2016 – June 2016)
• Freshman Scholars at Yale, math and science coach (Summer 2015)

• 2017-2018
  Presidential Management Fellowship Finalist
• 2012-2014
  Henry A. Smith Fellowship in Astronomy
• 2012
  University of Iowa Department of Physics and Astronomy Undergraduate Scholar Award
• 2008-2012
  University of Iowa President's List
• 2008-2012
  University of Iowa Dean's List
• 2008-2012
  University of Iowa National Scholars Award

• Schmitt, J. R., Jenkins, J. M., & Fischer, D. A. 2017, "A Search for Lost Planets in the Kepler Multi-planet Systems and the Discovery of the Long-period, Neptune-sized Exoplanet Kepler-150 f", The Astronomical Journal, 153, 180
• Schmitt, J. R., Tokovinin, A., Wang, J., et al. 2016, "Planet Hunters. X. Searching for Nearby Neighbors of 75 Planet and Eclipsing Binary Candidates from the K2 Kepler Extended Mission", The Astronomical Journal, 151, 159
• Schmitt, J. R., Basu, S. 2015, "Modeling the Asteroseismic Surface Term Across the HR Diagram", The Astrophysical Journal, 808, 123
• Schmitt, J. R., Agol, E., Deck, K. M., et al. 2014, "Planet Hunters. VII. Discovery of a New Low-mass, Low-density Planet (PH3 c) Orbiting Kepler-289 with Mass Measurements of Two Additional Planets (PH3 b and d)", ApJ, 795, 167
• Schmitt, J. R., Wang, J., Fischer, D. A., et al. 2014, "Planet Hunters. VI. An Independent Characterization of KOI-351 and Several Long Period Planet Candidates from the Kepler Archival Data", The Astronomical Journal, 148, 28
• Boyajian, T. S., et al. including Schmitt, J. R., 2016, "Planet Hunters IX. KIC 8462852 – where's the flux?", Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society, 457, 3988
• Wang, J., Fischer, D. A., Barclay, T., Picard, A., Ma, B., Bowler, B. P., Schmitt, J. R., et al. 2015, "Planet Hunters. VIII. Characterization of 41 Long-period Exoplanet Candidates from Kepler Archival Data", The Astrophysical Journal, 815, 127
• LaCourse, D. M., et al., including Schmitt, J. R., 2015, "Kepler eclipsing binary stars - VI. Identification of eclipsing binaries in the K2 Campaign 0 data set", Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society, 452, 3561
• Wang, J., et al., including Schmitt, J. R., 2014, "Planet Hunters. V. A Confirmed Jupiter-Size Planet in the Habitable Zone and 42 Planet Candidates from the Kepler Archive Data", The Astrophysical Journal, 776, 10
• Kaaret, P., Schmitt, J., and Gorski, M. 2011, "X-rays from Blue Compact Dwarf Galaxies", The Astrophysical Journal, 741, 10-13.

• Schmitt, J. R., Giguere, M. J., Fischer, D. A., Lintott, C. J., and the Planet Hunters team. 2015, "M-dwarf Planet Occurrence Rates out to Several Hundred Days Using the Citizen Science Program Planet Hunters", ERES Symposium, Penn State University (May 28-29)
• Schmitt, J. R., Wang, J., Agol, E., and the Planet Hunters team. 2014, "Planet Hunters: Three New Confirmed Planets and the First Kepler Seven Candidate System", AAS meeting, Washington, D.C. (Jan. 5-9)
• Schmitt, J. R., Wang, J., and the Planet Hunters team. 2013, "Planet Hunters VI: The First Kepler Seven Planet Candidate System and 13 Other Planet Candidates from the Kepler Archival Data", Kepler Science Conference II, NASA Ames Research Center, Moffet Field, CA (Nov. 4-8)
• Schmitt, J. R., Wang, J., and the Planet Hunters team. 2013, "Planet Hunters Update: Many New Planet Candidates Identified by Citizen Scientists from Kepler Data, Including Several in the Habitable Zone”, PPVI, Heidelberg, Germany (July 15-20)
• Schmitt, J., Kaaret, P., and Gorski, M. 2012, "X-rays from Blue Compact Dwarf Galaxies", AAS meeting, Austin, TX (Jan. 8-12, 2012)
• Schmitt, J., Kaaret, P., and Gorski, M. 2012, "X-rays from Blue Compact Dwarf Galaxies", Fall Research Festival, Iowa City, IA (Dec. 7, 2011)

• Computer skills: Python, Linux/Unix, and Microsoft Excel, Word, and PowerPoint
• Leading large research projects and collaborations
• Public outreach either directly or via citizen science programs

• Keck I (10m) with MOSFIRE (2015)
• Southern Astrophysical Research Telescope (SOAR, 4.1m) with the High-Resolution Camera (2015)
• Harlan J. Smith (2.7m) with Robert G. Tull Coudé Spectrograph (2014)
• SMARTS (1.5m) with CHIRON (2013)
• Keck I (10m) with HIRES (2013)