Deepto Chakrabarty '88

Professor of Physics
Associate Head of Physics
Research specialty is in high-energy astrophysics and the physics and astrophysics of neutron stars.
Research Areas
Astrophysics Observation, Instrumentation, and Experiment
(617) 253-3840
Office: 37-602B
Affiliated Center(s): MIT Kavli Institute for Astrophysics & Space Research
Assistant: Thea Paneth
Assistant Phone: (617) 253-3718

Research Interests

Observational high-energy astrophysics, including X-ray and gamma-ray astronomy, optical astronomy, and neutron stars and black holes.

Biographic Sketch

In 1996, Prof. Chakrabarty was awarded the Ph.D. in Physics from the California Institute of Technology, following two years at the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (1988-90) as a staff Physicist working on the Berkeley Automated Supernova Search. Prior to that, he completed his S.B. in Physics at MIT in 1988.

Professor Chakrabarty returned to MIT in 1996 for a two-year appointment as a NASA Compton GRO Postdoctoral Fellow, followed by a year spent as a Visiting Fellow at Balliol College, Oxford University (1998). In 1999, he accepted an Assistant Professorship within the Department of Physics at MIT. He was promoted to Associate Professor, with tenure, in July 2004.

Professor Chakrabarty’s most recent awards include an Alfred P. Sloan Research Fellowship (2001-03), and the inaugural 2017 MITx Prize for Teaching and Learning in MOOCs for his work on the 8.01x Mechanics Series.

More info:

In the news
In the news

X-ray pulse detected near event horizon as black hole devours star

Pulse pattern suggests distant black hole must be spinning at least at 50 percent the speed of light.

Awards & Honors

  • 2020 // Legacy Fellow of the American Astronomical Society
  • 2017 // MITx Prize for Teaching and Learning in MOOCs
  • 2011 // Fellow, American Physical Society
  • 2006 // Bruno Rossi Prize in High Energy Astrophysics, American Astronomical Society (co-recipient)
  • 2001-03 // Alfred P. Sloan Research Fellowship
  • 2001 // Buechner Teaching Prize in Physics, MIT "for outstanding contributions to the educational program of the MIT Department of Physics."
  • 1996-98 // NASA Compton GRO Postdoctoral Fellowship

Key Publications

  • “Neutron star mass measurements. I. Radio pulsars,” Thorsett SE, Chakrabarty D, ASTROPHYSICAL JOURNAL 512 (1): 288-299 Part 1 FEB 10 1999.

  • “Precision timing of two anomalous X-ray pulsars,” Kaspi VM, Chakrabarty D, Steinberger J, ASTROPHYSICAL JOURNAL 525 (1): L33-L36 Part 2 NOV 1 1999.

  • “A glitch in an anomalous X-ray pulsar,” Kaspi VM, Lackey JR, Chakrabarty D, ASTROPHYSICAL JOURNAL 537 (1): L31-L34 Part 2 JUL 1 2000.