Shrinivas Kulkarni (American Astronomer) Biography

Quick Info

Profession	Astronomer
Nationality	American
Date of Birth	04/10/1956
Age	69 years
Birthplace	Kurundwad, Maharashtra, India

Latest News about Shrinivas Kulkarni

29/03/2026

Shrinivas Kulkarni was awarded the Royal Astronomical Society's Gold Medal, the Society's highest honour awarded continuously since 1824. The Maharashtra-born Caltech professor was recognized for his field-defining work in time domain astronomy and sustained, innovative contributions to multi-wavelength transient astrophysics, making him only the second Indian recipient after Subrahmanyan Chandrasekhar in 1953.

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Bio/Wiki

Full Name	Prof. Shrinivas Ramchandra Kulkarni
Known For	Pioneering work in time domain astronomy, discoveries of brown dwarfs, gamma-ray bursts, and fast cosmic events; recipient of the Royal Astronomical Society's Gold Medal (2026)

Physical Stats & More

Eye Color	Light Brown
Hair Color	Salt and Pepper

Educational Qualification(s)

Degrees	Master's of Science in Applied Physics (1978) Doctor of Philosophy from the University of California, Berkeley (1983)
Institutes	Indian Institute of Technology, Delhi University of California, Berkeley

Personal Life

Religion	Hinduism

Relationships & More

Marital Status	Married
Wife	Hiromi Komiya (Astronomer)

Family

Father	Dr. R. H. Kulkarni (surgeon)
Mother	Vimala Kulkarni
Siblings	Sunanda Kulkarni (gynecologist) Sudha Murthy (educator, author, philanthropist) Jaishree Deshpande (engineer)
Spouse	Hiromi Komiya
Children	Anju Maya
Other Relative	Brother-in-law - N R Narayana Murthy (Infosys Founder)

Career

Overview	Shrinivas Kulkarni is a George Ellery Hale Professor of Astronomy and Planetary Science at the California Institute of Technology (Caltech), where he has been faculty since 1987. He is recognized as a field-defining researcher in time domain astronomy, studying the lifetime evolution and changes of cosmic objects including pulsars, brown dwarfs, gamma-ray bursts, and optical transients.
Positions Held	Assistant Professor of Astronomy Associate Professor Full Professor MacArthur Professor George Ellery Hale Professor of Astronomy and Planetary Science Director of the Caltech Optical Observatories Millikan Research Fellow in Radio Astronomy, Caltech (1985-1987) Associate Professor (1990-1992) Full Professor (1992-1996) MacArthur Professor (2001-2017) Executive Officer for Astronomy (1997-2000) Director of the NASA Exoplanet Science Institute Andrew D. White Professor-at-large at Cornell University (2007-present) Science Director for the Michelson Science Center (2003-present)
Significant Contributions	1954 - Joined Caltech after completing his PhD. 1994 - Identified the first irrefutable brown dwarf, expanding knowledge of celestial objects. 1997 - Demonstrated that gamma-ray bursts originate from outside our galaxy, reshaping astrophysics. Developed numerous astronomical instruments aiding in the observation of transient phenomena. Led the Palomar Transient Factory and Zwicky Transient Facility, capturing thousands of astronomical events. Served as Jury Chair for the Infosys Prize in Physical Sciences since 2009. Co-developed STARE2 instrument for identifying fast radio bursts from a magnetar. Studied the Milky Way Galaxy using HI absorption methods, uncovering its four-armed structure. Demonstrated that soft gamma-ray repeaters are neutron stars associated with supernova remnants, leading to understanding of magnetars with extremely high magnetic fields. Led Caltech-NRAO team that proved gamma-ray bursts originate from extragalactic sources and identified their optical counterparts (1997), initiating detailed studies of gamma-ray burst sources. Observed the first irrefutable brown dwarf orbiting Gliese 229 (1994). Led construction of the Palomar Transient Factory (PTF) in 2009, a large-area automated survey that revolutionized understanding of the time-varying sky, discovering thousands of stellar explosions, supernovae, and exotic transient sources. Invented approximately 10 scientific instruments for astronomical observation. Published 63 Nature Letters and 7 Science Letters, alongside 479 refereed scientific articles (as of 2015). Mentored 64 young scholars by end of 2016. Co-PI on Extra-Solar Planet Interferometric Survey (EPICs) for NASA's Space Interferometry Mission. PI of PHASES project on the Palomar Testbed Interferometer for astrometric planet searches. Co-discovered the first millisecond pulsar (PSR B1937+21) with Donald Backer and colleagues during graduate studies in 1982, fundamentally changing understanding of neutron stars. Studied the Milky Way Galaxy using HI absorption methods with advisor Carl Heiles, uncovering its four-armed structure. Identified the first irrefutable brown dwarf orbiting Gliese 229 (1995), expanding knowledge of celestial objects. Developed the Zwicky Transient Facility for automated detection of transient astronomical phenomena. 1982 - Co-discovered the first millisecond pulsar (PSR B1937+21) with Donald Backer and colleagues during graduate studies, fundamentally changing understanding of neutron stars. 1986 - Identified the first optical counterpart of binary pulsars. 1987 - Discovered the first globular cluster pulsar using a supercomputer.
Awards and Honors	Helen B. Warner Prize in Astronomy (1991) Alan T. Waterman Award (1992) Fellow of the Royal Society (2001) Karl G. Jansky Lectureship (2002) Member of the US National Academy of Sciences (2003) Dan David Prize (2017) Shaw Prize in Astronomy (2024) Royal Astronomical Society Gold Medal recipient (2026) Fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences (1994) Honorary Fellow of the Indian Academy of Sciences (2011) Foreign Member of the Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences (2016)

Some Lesser Known Facts

1. Kulkarni hails from Kurundwad and was raised in an educated family.
2. He is the youngest among his siblings and attended local schools in Hubballi, Karnataka.
3. While pursuing his PhD, he co-discovered the first millisecond pulsar, altering the understanding of neutron stars.
4. He quickly learned Japanese in two weeks to connect with his future wife, Hiromi Komiya.
5. Kulkarni has contributed significantly to building around ten astronomical instruments during his career.
6. Kulkarni was born in Kurundwad, a small town in the erstwhile principality of Kurundwad, and grew up in Hubballi, a provincial town in Northern Karnataka.
7. He is the youngest among his siblings and comes from an educated family of medical professionals.
8. While pursuing his PhD, he co-discovered the first millisecond pulsar, fundamentally altering the understanding of neutron stars.
9. Kulkarni has contributed significantly to building approximately ten astronomical instruments during his career.
10. His research interests include interferometry, with a lifelong commitment to advancing this observational technique.
11. He has published over 479 refereed scientific articles and numerous high-impact papers in Nature and Science journals.
12. He is only the second Indian to receive the Royal Astronomical Society's Gold Medal, following Subrahmanyan Chandrasekhar who received it in 1953.

Shrinivas Kulkarni Astronomer American Kurundwad, Maharashtra, India