J. Christopher Clemens

J. Christopher Clemens is executive vice chancellor, provost, and Jaroslav Folda Distinguished Professor of Physics and Astronomy at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. He leads an active research program in stellar astrophysics, exoplanetary astronomy, and astronomical instrumentation. He led a research team of graduate and undergraduate students to build the facility spectrograph for the 4.1 meter SOAR telescope in Chile, which is operated by UNC in collaboration with national and international partners. Recently, his research team has been using the spectrograph to measure the elemental abundances of exoplanetary debris that falls onto compact stellar remnants known as white dwarf stars. His graduate students were the first to detect and measure Lithium abundances in 10 Billion year old exoplanetary material, providing a new way to trace the cosmological history of that element, which is one of only three formed in the Big Bang. As senior associate dean, he supported the development of the new IDEAs in Action Curriculum, and advocated for building students’ capacities for public discourse and debate. In 2019-2020 he led the effort to establish the Program for Public Discourse and served as its acting director.

October 2024