Caleb Scharf
Senior Scientist for Astrobiology
Branch: Exobiology Branch (STX)
Professional Biography
2005-2022 Director of Astrobiology, Columbia University, New York
2015-2018 Global Science Coordinator, ELSI Origins Network, Tokyo, Japan
2016-2019 Co-founded and Creative Director, YHouse, New York
Education
PhD, University of Cambridge, UK
BSc, Durham University, UK
Research Interests
Life-planet interactions and fundamentals of habitability
Exoplanetary science and rocky planet climates
Orbital dynamics and planetary systems
AI and machine-learning applications in astrobiology
Select Publications
Recent/representative:
“Rebuilding the Habitable Zone from the Bottom Up with Computational Zones”, Scharf, C., Witkowski, O., submitted Astrobiology Journal, 2023
“Contact Inequality – First Contact Will Likely Be With An Older Civilization”, Kipping, D., Frank, A., Scharf, C., International Journal of Astrobiology, 2020, DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/S1473550420000208.
“The Fermi Paradox and the Aurora Effect: Exo-civilization Settlement, Expansion, and Steady States”, Carroll-Nellenback, J., Frank, A., Wright, J., Scharf, C., The Astronomical Journal, 158, 117, 2019.
“Exoplanet Exergy: Why Useful Work Matters for Planetary Habitabilty”, Scharf, C., The Astrophysical Journal, 876, 16, 2019.
“Climates of Warm Earth-like Planets. II. Rotational “Goldilocks” Zones for Fractional Habitability and Silicate Weathering”, Jansen, T., Scharf, C., Way, M., The Astrophysical Journal, 875, 79, 2019.
“Rocky Planet Rotation, Thermal Tide Resonances, and the Influence of Biological Activity”, Scharf, C., Astrobiology, 18, 1101-1105, 2018.
“Bulk measurements of messy chemistries are needed for a theory of the origins of life”, Guttenberg, N., Virgo, N., Chandru, K., Scharf, C., Mamajanov, I., Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society A, 375, 20160347, 2017.
“Quantifying the origins of life on a planetary scale”, Scharf, C., Cronin, L. PNAS, 113, 8127-8132, 2016.
Awards & Others
2022 Carl Sagan Medal, American Astronomical Society Division for Planetary Science
2011 Chambliss Medal, American Astronomical Society