John Weaver
Brinson Prize Fellow (Postdoc) at Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States
Summary
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Senior🎓
Top SchoolJohn Weaver is an astrophysicist and Brinson Prize Fellow whose eight-year career probes how the first galaxies formed, grew, and quenched in the early Universe. Currently a postdoc at UMass Amherst and joining MIT’s Kavli Institute as a Brinson Fellow in 2025, he combines observational programs with international space-telescope teams to push instrumental limits on cosmic dawn science. He earned a PhD at the Cosmic Dawn Center in Copenhagen and built practical open-data tools and a spectral database used by both amateur and professional astronomers, reflecting a strong commitment to public science and citizen astronomy. John’s background spans hands-on telescope ops and advanced Bayesian analysis of grism spectra from stints at Caltech, Leiden, MPIA and other institutes, giving him rare breadth across observation, software, and outreach. He enjoys connecting diverse audiences to research—whether teaching, sidewalk stargazing, or building accessible data resources—bringing technical rigor and public engagement to the study of cosmic origins.
8 years of coding experience
6 years of employment as a software developer
MPhys, Physics (Honours) with Astrophysics, First Class Honours, MPhys, Physics (Honours) with Astrophysics, First Class Honours at University of St AndrewsDoctor of Philosophy - PhD, Astrophysics, Doctor of Philosophy - PhD, Astrophysics at Københavns Universitet - University of CopenhagenHigh School Diploma, High School Diploma at The Williams SchoolNew London Scholarship (2 courses), Astronomy, 4.0/4.0, New London Scholarship (2 courses), Astronomy, 4.0/4.0 at Connecticut College
English, Latin
Github Skills (4)
bootstrapping4
pythonic3
python3
nuke1
Programming languages (1)
Github contributions (5)
astroweaver/the_farmer
Feb 2019 - May 2022
The Farmer
Contributions:1 release, 869 commits, 1 PR in 3 years 3 months
astrowhit/aperpy
Aug 2023 - Mar 2024
Contributions:3 releases, 13 pushes, 2 tags in 7 months
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