Candidate Statement: Xiaohui Fan

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Nominated Office: USNC-IAU

Affiliation: University of Arizona

Position/title: Regents' Professor of Astronomy

PhD institution: Princeton University (2000)

Areas of scientific interest:

  • extragalactic astronomy and cosmology
  • high-redshift quasars
  • supermassive black holes
  • cosmic reionization
  • intergalactic medium
  • galaxy evolution
  • large scale structure
  • astronomical surveys

AAS positions: 

  • Warner and Pierce Prize Committee (2014 - present)

Other relevant positions and experience:

  • International Center for Relativistic Astrophysics Network (ICRANet), Steering Committee (2014 - present)
  • Dark Energy Spectroscopic Instrument (DESI) Project, Institutional Board; Imaging Working Group, Co-Chair (2014 - present)
  • Large Binocular Telescope Observatory, Scientific Advisory Committee, Chair; Scientific and Technical Committee, Chair (2008 - present)
  • Sloan Digital Sky Survey, Advisory Committee (2008 - present); Collaboration Council, (2000 - 2002, 2008 - 2011); Quasar Working Group, Co-Chair (2000 - 2008)
  • Kavli Institute for Astronomy and Astrophysics, Peking University, Advisory Committee (2012 - 2014)
  • Chinese Thirty-Meter-Telescope Advisory Committee (2010 - present)
  • Giant Magellan Telescope, Instrumentation Development Panel (2012); Science Working Group (2004 - 2008)
  • WFIRST Science Definition Team (2012)
  • ALMA - North American Science Advisory Committee (2003 - 2007)
  • Review Panels and Committees: NSF, HST, Spitzer, Chandra, Hubble Fellowship, NAOC

Candidate Statement: My connection to the IAU started in 1992, when, as an undergraduate student in China, I participated in the International School for Young Astronomers (ISYA) organized by the IAU; I also met my future wife during the school, and last summer, we celebrated our twentieth wedding anniversary in Hawaii. My career has been closely associated with large international projects, such as SDSS, LBT, GMT and DESI. At both professional and personal levels, I deeply appreciate the importance of international collaboration and the power of diversity in advancing astronomy on the world stage, and strongly believe in the leadership roles the US community must play in the future of our field.

There are two areas that I am especially interested in contributing as a member of the USNC-IAU: (1) in this era of large surveys and big data, astronomical research is becoming more global and more democratic. This data revolution presents both challenges and opportunities for the international community. (2) The education and outreach activities of IAU, such as ISYA, especially those in the developing world, have directly benefited people like myself, and should continue to grow in order to attract new global talents.