Rory Barnes

I am an assistant professor in the Astronomy Department and Astrobiology Program at the University of Washington, researching the physical evolution of habitable worlds. My research group develops and synthesizes computer models across multiple scientific disciplines to generate realistic models of planetary system evolution over billions of years in order to identify planets and moons that may support life, and the observational signatures could reveal its presence. I am also co-founder of VR Ulysses, which uses virtual reality to visualize and explore complex, high-dimensional data.

I grew up in Tucson, AZ, spending the cool nights staring at the stars. After obtaining bachelors of science in astronomy and physics at the University of Arizona, I completed a PhD in astronomy at the UW with Tom Quinn. I returned to Tucson for a postdoc at the U of A’s planetary science department, and then returned to Seattle for an astrobiology postdoc with Victoria Meadows and the Virtual Planetary Lab.