Bryan Holler

Dr. Bryan Holler joined STScI as a Support Scientist in 2017, a role that has since been renamed to STScI Scientist. He is a member of the JWST/MIRI instrument branch and is also the JWST Solar System Deputy and JWST ETC Working Group Lead.

External to STScI, Dr. Holler was an Collaborator on the New Horizons Science Team, the Deputy Lead for Planetary Science on the Interstellar Probe mission concept study, and was an Affiliate on the unsuccessful NASA Discovery mission proposal Centaurus.

Dr. Holler earned his PhD in Astrophysics and Planetary Sciences, with a thesis topic of "Comparative KBOlogy: Using surface spectra of Triton, Pluto, and Charon to investigate atmospheric, surface, and interior processes on Kuiper Belt Objects." He continues to study the surface compositions of trans-Neptunian objects (TNOs, the more general term that encompasses Kuiper Belt Objects and other trans-Neptunian minor body populations) using ground-based facilities such as Keck, IRTF, Gemini, and the Apache Point Observatory.

Since leaving graduate school, Dr. Holler's research interests have expanded to include rotational light curve studies of TNOs and he has used the Hubble Space Telescope for observations of TNO binaries. The latter has pulled him into the early stages of dynamical modeling investigations of TNO satellite orbital evolution and constraining the long-term obliquity cycles of Pluto. Dr. Holler is a member of the JWST Guaranteed Time Observation (GTO) program to observe the largest TNOs and is also actively involved in understanding and promoting the capabilities of the Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope for studies of minor bodies and irregular satellites throughout the solar system.

Among the more rewarding aspects of his job is mentoring. Dr. Holler has helped mentor students as part of summer and part-time internships, worked with junior colleagues at STScI on research projects, and is even working on a project (albeit slowly) with his mom, who is a quasi-retired speech-language pathologist.

Education:

PhD in Astrophyscial and Planetary Sciences, University of Colorado at Boulder (2016)
MS in Astrophyscial and Planetary Sciences, University of Colorado at Boulder (2015)
BS in Astronomy, University of Maryland, College Park (2012)
BS in Physics, University of Maryland, College Park (2012)
 

Science Interests:

• Spectroscopy of trans-Neptunian objects (TNOs)
• Rotation light curves of TNOs
• Dynamics of trans-Neptunian binaries
• Minor body and irregular satellite observations with Roman

Research Topics: Other, Solar System, Trans-Neptunian Objects

ORCID ID: 0000-0002-6117-0164