Skip Navigation
Search for People:
Search for Projects:

Dariusz (Darek) Lis

Photo of Dariusz (Darek) Lis

Address:

4800 Oak Grove Drive

Pasadena, CA 91109

Curriculum Vitae:

Click here

Member of:

Structure of the Universe

Biography

Darek Lis obtained his PhD from the University of Massachusetts, Amherst in 1989. He subsequently joined the submillimeter group at Caltech, where he was Research Fellow in Physics (1989 — 1992), Senior Research Fellow in Physics (1992 — 1998), and Senior Research Associate in Physics (1998 — 2015), as well as Co-Principal Investigator (1996 — 2013) and Deputy Director (2009 — 2014) of the Caltech Submillimeter Observatory. From 2014 to 2019 he was Professor at Sorbonne University in Paris and Director of the Laboratory for Studies of Radiation and Matter in Astrophysics and Atmospheres, a scientific department of the Paris Observatory. In 2021 he was elected to the Organizing Committee of the International Astronomical Union, Commission H2 Astrochemistry.

Education

University of Massachusetts, Amherst, Ph.D. 1989

Research Interests

Darek Lis’s research interests include astrochemistry and high-resolution molecular spectroscopy of solar system objects and the interstellar medium, from the Milky Way to the high-redshift Universe, as well as submillimeter heterodyne instrumentation. Using ground-based and space-borne far-infrared facilities, such as the Caltech Submillimeter Observatory, Herschel Space Observatory, or Stratospheric Observatory for Infrared Astronomy he has studied molecules and their isotopic ratios to understand the physical conditions and chemistry of the interstellar medium, as well as the origin of Earth’s oceans.

Selected Awards

NASA Exceptional Scientific Achievement Medal in 2021.

NASA Group Achievements Awards in 2010 and 2014.

Selected Publications

  1. Ocean-Like Water Found in the Jupiter Family Comet 103P/Hartley 2. P. Hartogh, D. C. Lis, D. Bockelée-Morvan, M. de Val-Borro, N. Biver, M. Küppers, M. Emprechtinger, E. A. Bergin, J. Crovisier, M. Rengel, R. Moreno, G.A. Blake, and S. Szutowicz, Nature, 471, 218–220 (2011; DOI 10.1038/nature10519)
  2. Herschel/HIFI Measurements of the Ortho/Para Ratio in Water towards Sagittarius B2(M) and W31C. D. C. Lis, T. G. Phillips, P. F. Goldsmith, D. A. Neufeld, E. Herbst, et al., A&A Letters, 521, L26 (2010; DOI 10.1051/0004-6361/201015072).
  3. Herschel/HIFI Discovery of Interstellar Chloronium (H2Cl+). D. C. Lis, J. C. Pearson, D. A. Neufeld, P. Schilke, H. S. P. Müller, H. Gupta, et al., A&A Letters, 521, L9 (2010; Highlighted paper, Herschel/HIFI Special Issue; DOI 10.1051/0004-6361/201014959).
  4. Detection of Triply Deuterated Ammonia in the Barnard 1 Cloud. D.C. Lis, M. Gerin, E. Roueff, T.G. Phillips, F.F.S. van der Tak, and P. Schilke, Ap. J. Letters, 571, L55–58 (2002; DOI 10.1086/341132).
  5. New Molecules found in Comet C/1995 O1 (Hale-Bopp). D. Bockelée-Morvan, D. C. Lis, J.E. Wink, D. Despois, J. Crovisier, R. Bachiller, D.J. Benford, N. Biver, P. Colom, J.K. Davies, E. Gérard, B. Germain, M. Houde, D. Mehringer, R. Moreno, G. Paubert, T.G. Phillips, and H. Rauer, A&A, 353, 1101–1114 (2000).
  6. 350 Micron Continuum Imaging of the Orion A Molecular Cloud with the Submillimeter High Angular Resolurion Camera. D. C. Lis, E. Serabyn, J. Keene, C. D. Dowell, D. J. Benford, T. G. Phillips, T. R. Hunter, and N. Wang, Ap. J., 509, 299–308 (1998; DOI 10.1086/306500).
  7. Deuterated Water in Comet C/1996 B2 (Hyakutake) and its Implications for the Structure of the Origin of Comets. D. Bockelée-Morvan, D. Gautier, D. C. Lis, K. Young, J. Keene, T. G. Phillips, T. Owen, J. Crovisier, P. Goldsmith, E. Bergin, D. Despois, and A. Wootten, Icarus, 133, 147–162 (1998; 10.1006/icar.1998.5916).
  8. Synthesized Spectra of Turbulent Clouds. E. Falgarone, D. C. Lis, T. G. Phillips, A. Pouquet, D. H. Porter, and P. R. Woodward, Ap. J., 436, 728–740 (1994; DOI 10.1086/174946).
  9. Submillimeter Continuum Survey of the Galactic Center. D. C. Lis and J. E. Carlstrom, Ap. J., 424, 189–199 (1994; DOI 10.1086/173882).
  10. Modeling of the Continuum and Molecular Line Emission from the Sagittarius B2 Molecular Cloud. D.C. Lis and P.F. Goldsmith, Ap. J., 356, 195–210 (1990; DOI 10.1086/168830).