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Mike Brown, Ph.D.  

Astronomer & Author of "How I Killed Pluto and Why It Had It Coming"

Copernicus. Galileo. Hubble, Halley, Sagan. And now, Brown. Like the scientific luminaries before him, Mike Brown has forever changed the way we view the final frontier. Specializing in the discovery and study of bodies at the edge of the solar system, Mike Brown and his teams discovery of Eris, which is larger than the former ninth planet, led to demotion of Pluto to dwarf planet. At the podium, Brown tells the fascinating true story of the demise of Pluto and a first-hand account of the modern day discoveries of our solar system.

Mike Brown is a professor of planetary astronomy at the California Institute of Technology. In 2006, his and his teams work rocked the world when, inspired their findings, the International Astronomical Union (the organization which oversees astronomical rules and conventions) revised the definition of a planet. The result was that Pluto was deemed too small and ousted from the official planetary list.

Brown and his teams discoveries of several bodies of similar size to Pluto, including Eris, Quaoar and Sedna, known as dwarf planets, has permanently changed the way we look at our Solar System. Feature articles about Brown and his and his teams work have appeared in the New Yorker, the New York Times, and Discover, among many other major publications, and his discoveries have been covered on front pages of countless newspapers worldwide. In 2006 he was named one of Time magazine's 100 Most Influential People as well as one of Los Angeles magazine's Most Powerful Angelinos. He has authored nearly 100 scientific papers, and his writing has appeared in numerous academic, scientific, and popular publications including the New York Times, Physics Today, and the World Book Science Year.

Mike Brown received his AB from Princeton in 1987 and his MA and PhD from University of California, Berkeley, in 1990 and 1994, respectively. He has won numerous awards and honors for his scholarship, including the prestigious Urey Prize for best young planetary scientist from the American Astronomical Society's Division of Planetary Sciences; the prestigious Richard P. Feynman Award for Outstanding Teaching at Caltech; a Presidential Early Career Award; a Sloan Fellowship; and, of course, the one that started his career, an honorable mention in his fifth-grade science fair. He was also named one of Wired On-line's Top Ten Sexiest Geeks in 2006. Mike Brown is the subject of the childrens book, The Planet Hunter: The Story Behind What Happened to Pluto. He lives with his wife and daughter in Southern California.

Speech Topics


How to Discover a Planet: An Evolution of Search and Discovery

Ever since the accidental discovery of Uranus in 1781, people have continued to look for new tools and technologies to apply in the continued search for new planetary bodies in our solar system. Mike Brown, a professor of planetary astronomy at the California Institute of Technology, is probably best known for his discovery of the massive object Eris, which ultimately led to the controversial and widely-publicized demotion of Pluto from a planet to dwarf planet. Join Mike as he leads us through the centuries-old quest for new planets: from utilizing simple pen and paper (Neptune) to telescopic innovations (Ceres and the asteroid belt), the invention of photography (Pluto), the introduction of the first digital cameras (Eris and the Kuiper belt) to recent breakthroughs which may lead to the ability to launch a search using massive data sets from giant telescopes that are then parsed by supercomputers. Mike will also reveal never-before seen information about an astonishing new finding. The new ninth planet is in reach!

News


Pluto may be a planet: Your childhood is once again complete | AL ...
Back in 2005, a scientist named Mike Brown discovered a celestial body that was slightly larger than Pluto. He named it Xena (after your favorite warrior ...
'Pluto killer' Michael Brown to speak at the Adler
Come hear the author of "How I Killed Pluto and Why It Had It Coming" give his side of the story at the Adler.

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