Kathryne Daniel

Kathryne J. Daniel is a galactic dynamicist with a particular interest in the evolution of spiral galaxies through internal, secular processes. Daniel’s research program focuses on resonant dynamics in spiral disks, the dynamical nature of morphological structures like the bar and transient spiral arms, and the impact of such structures on stellar kinematics and population demographics in the Milky Way.

Daniel is an Associate Professor at the University of Arizona and Associate Scientist at Steward Observatory. She is a Deputy Director for the next generation gravitational wave facility, Cosmic Explorer, has held faculty positions at Bryn Mawr College and Swarthmore College, and earned her Ph.D. from Johns Hopkins University in 2015. She is also a co-founder and co-director of the Society of Indigenous Physicists.

Daniel has received multiple awards including being named the Inaugural Distinguished Vera Rubin Visiting Professorship at UC Santa Cruz (2021), a Scialog Fellow (2019), an AAUW American Dissertation Fellow, and a NSF-GRFP recipient. Daniel served on the National Academies of Sciences decadal review (Astro2020) as a member of the panel for the State of the Profession and Societal Impacts.