From his earliest days growing up in a Gujarati household in a town in India, Prof. Karan Jani has wanted to know how the universe works.
That question has taken him a long way from his home: first to the Pennsylvania State University as an international student, where he earned Bachelor of Science degrees in Astronomy-Astrophysics and in Physics, with a minor in Mathematics, then to Georgia Institute of Technology, where he earned his Ph.D. in Physics. Along the way, he held research positions at the Max Planck Institute for Gravitational Physics, Perimeter Institute for Theoretical Physics, Caltech-LIGO, and Yale Astronomy. Now, he is at Vanderbilt University, where he holds the endowed position of Cornelius Vanderbilt Dean’s Faculty Fellow in Astrophysics, serves as the founding Director of Vanderbilt Lunar Labs Initiative, and holds professor appointments in Physics & Astronomy, Data Science and Communication of Science & Technology.
For over a decade, Karan’s research has been at the forefront of gravitational waves — a new frontier in humanity’s understanding of the universe and the fundamental laws that govern it. For his role in the Nobel-prize-winning discovery of gravitational waves, Karan was a recipient of the Special Breakthrough Prize in Fundamental Physics and was named US's Top 30 Scientists Under 30 by Forbes. Research pioneered by Dr. Jani has been featured on the cover page of prestigious scientific journal, showcased by the National Science Foundation, and profiled by international media outlets. One of his most notable moments is being invited by the Prime Minister of India to discuss expanding gravitational-wave research in India.
The Jani Lab at Vanderbilt continues to push the boundaries of gravitational-wave research on three major frontiers: LIGO detectors in the US and India, NASA/ESA space mission LISA, and a next-generation lunar experiment LILA, for which Karan serves as the principal investigator. The core mission of the Jani Lab is to study an elusive class of black holes, long thought to not exist in the universe, until Karan, representing a global team, announced their discovery in 2020.
Being the first in the family to get a college degree in STEM, Karan is intimately aware that diversity of perspective and experience is vital for the growth of science. He is dedicated to ensuring his research increases representation in astrophysics and opens new opportunities to engage with government and industries. Karan is proud to serve as a faculty member for the Fisk-Vanderbilt Bridge Program, the United States’ pioneering and most successful bridge program in astronomy. His Vanderbilt course on Black Holes has opened astronomy to undergraduate students of all disciplines, from law to music to engineering. His outreach talks have brought him everywhere from global industry summits to the TED stage with Shah Rukh Khan to inspiring students in government schools in India. While he was a Sam Nunn Security Fellow funded by the MacArthur Foundation at Georgia Tech’s Center for International Strategy, Technology, and Policy, Karan expanded his research into the role of big data and space science for intelligence communities.
When not seeking a greater understanding of the universe, Karan enjoys golfing, watching Test Cricket, and listening to Hindustani Classical Music.