Shane Larson

Shane L. Larson is a Full Research Professor of Physics at Northwestern University, and Associate Director of Northwestern’s Center for Interdisciplinary Exploration and Research in Astrophysics (CIERA). He received a Ph.D. in Physics from Montana State University in 1999. He works in gravitational-wave astronomy, particularly on problems related to LISA, a space-based gravitational-wave observatory that will launch in the early 2030s. His teaching life has always revolved around large introductory physics service courses, where he enjoys helping students navigate the misgivings they often have about science. He is an award-winning teacher and a Fellow of the American Physical Society.

In his spare time, Shane enjoys fountain pens, table-top RPGs, LEGO modeling, amateur astronomy, building telescopes, and building guitars. He grew up in the Rocky Mountain west, but currently lives in Illinois with his wife, daughter, and cats. He contributes regularly to a public science blog at Write Science, and tweets with the handle @sciencejedi. If he could have dinner with one famous physicist or astronomer from history, it would be Henrietta Swan Leavitt.