Benjamin Rackham

Benjamin works on the detection and characterization of transiting exoplanets. He’s primarily interested in small exoplanets orbiting nearby small stars, suitable for detailed atmospheric studies. He’s also interested in stellar activity and how one can best account for the impact of heterogeneous stellar photospheres on exoplanet transmission spectroscopy. Benjamin is the Principal Investigator for Legacy programs on HST and JWST with the goal of constraining the photospheric properties of exoplanet host stars and enabling precise measurements of transmission spectra for small planets around small stars. Before coming to MIT, he earned his PhD in Astronomy & Astrophysics from the University of Arizona. In a former life, Benjamin studied neuroscience at Westminster University and worked as a field biologist in Utah and Arizona.