Brett Morris

Dr. Brett M. Morris joined STScI in September 2022, as a Senior Software Engineer in the Data Analysis Tools Branch of the Data Management Division at STScI in Baltimore, Maryland. He contributes to several open-source software projects with the goal of enabling cutting-edge observations of exoplanets and their host stars. Before arriving at STScI, Dr. Morris held a postdoctoral research fellowship at the Center for Space and Habitability at the University of Bern in Bern, Switzerland. There he applied Bayesian inference techniques to investigate the physics of exoplanet atmospheres via space-based observations. Professor Kevin Heng helped develop theoretical frameworks and their accompanying software tools for inferring the temperature maps and scattering properties of exoplanet atmospheres. Dr. Morris defended his dual-title PhD in Astronomy and Astrobiology from the University of Washington in Seattle, Washington in 2019. Brett worked on his dissertation, titled "The Effects of Stellar Magnetic Activity and Variability on Observations of Exoplanets," with Professors Eric Agol and Suzanne Hawley. Earlier, Dr. Morris was a research assistant at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center, and an undergraduate in physics and astronomy at the University of Maryland in College Park, Maryland.

Dr. Morris has been the principal investigator of many observing campaigns from the ground and space, including an 84 or84-orbitPS planet-hunting program, and more than 100 half-nights at the Astrophysical Research Consortium (ARC) 3.5 m Telescope at Apache Point Observatory (APO) in New Mexico.

Education:

PhD in Astronomy and Astrobiology, University of Washington
MS in Astronomy, University of Washington
BS in Astronomy, University of Maryland
BS in Physics, University of Maryland

Science Interests:

• Exoplanets: atmospheres, phase curves, transits, emission and reflection spectroscopy
• Stars: atmospheres, magnetic activity, rotation
• Space and ground-based observations: photometry, spectroscopy, optical/NIR
• Open source software development

Research Topics:  Exoplanets

Professional Websites:

Brett Morris

ORCID ID: 0000-0003-2528-3409