Dana Anderson
Astrochemist & Planetary Scientist
US Naval Academy Assistant Professor
About Me
I am an Assistant Professor in the Physics Department at the U.S. Naval Academy. My research explores the chemical composition of planet-forming materials through computational modeling and telescope observations of disks around young stars. My focus is on how we can use astrochemical observations to derive disk properties (e.g., gas masses, compositions, and lifetimes) that are relevant to planet formation. I am a Co-PI of the ALMA Disk-Exoplanet C/Onnection (DECO) and Herbig Disk Chemistry Large Programs, Co-I on two JWST Cycle 2 programs, and PI of several successful ALMA programs focused on circumstellar disk chemistry.
Research Interests
Planets form in disks of gas and dust around young stars. My research seeks to determine where chemical elements like carbon, nitrogen, and oxygen are stored in these planet-forming disks. This work addresses broader questions regarding the materials and conditions necessary to create our own solar system as well as the wide variety of planetary systems observed around other stars. Through studying the chemistry of planet formation we hope to understand our own origins and the likelihood of forming Earth-like planets elsewhere in the universe.
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Contact Me
U. S. Naval Academy
Physics Department
Annapolis, MD, U.S.A
Email: danderso@usna.edu
Alternate email: de4and@gmail.com