View source for Biography:Caleb Scharf

{{Short description|English astronomer}}
{{Infobox scientist
| name = Caleb Scharf
|birth_name = Caleb Asa Scharf
|citizenship = British and American
| nationality = English<ref name=Calebscharf/>
| alma_mater = [[Organization:Durham University|Durham University]] {{small|(BSc)}}<br />[[Organization:University of Cambridge|University of Cambridge]] {{small|([[Social:Doctor of Philosophy|PhD]])}}<ref name=Calebscharf/>
| awards = Carl Sagan Medal (2022)
| fields = [[Astronomy:Cosmology|Cosmology]] and [[Astronomy:Astrobiology|Astrobiology]]
| workplaces = [[Organization:Columbia University|Columbia University]]
}}
'''Caleb Asa Scharf'''<ref>{{cite journal |title=BSc |journal=University of Durham Congregation (28 June 12:30pm) |date=1989 |page=6 |publisher=Durham University |location=Durham}}</ref> is a British-American astronomer and popular science author. He is currently the senior scientist for astrobiology at the NASA [[Organization:Ames Research Center|Ames Research Center]] in Mountain View, California.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://astrobiology.nasa.gov/news/caleb-scharf-senior-scientist-for-astrobiology-at-the-nasa-ames-research-center/|website=Astrobiology at NASA |title=Caleb Scharf: Senior Scientist for Astrobiology at the NASA Ames Research Center}}</ref> He formerly served as the director of the [[Philosophy:Interdisciplinarity|multidisciplinary]] Columbia Astrobiology Center at [[Organization:Columbia University|Columbia University]], New York.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.astro.columbia.edu/profile?uid=caleb|website=Columbia University, Department of Astronomy|title=Caleb Scharf: Research Scientist|access-date=2016-03-26|archive-date=2016-04-05|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160405005505/http://www.astro.columbia.edu/profile?uid=caleb|url-status=dead}}</ref>

Also active as a [[Science communication|science communicator]], Scharf was the 2022 recipient of the Carl Sagan Medal, awarded by the American Astronomical Society for excellence in public communication of planetary science.<ref>{{cite web |title=Caleb Scharf Wins Carl Sagan Medal for Public Science Communication |url=https://www.astro.columbia.edu/news/caleb-scharf-wins-carl-sagan-medal-public-science-communication |website=Astronomy & Astrophysics |publisher=Columbia University |access-date=25 April 2023 |date=8 September 2022}}</ref>  

==Early life and education==
He received a B.Sc. in Physics from [[Organization:Durham University|Durham University]] and a PhD in Astronomy from the [[Organization:University of Cambridge|University of Cambridge]].

==Research==
Scharf conducted postdoctoral work in X-ray astronomy and observational cosmology at the NASA [[Organization:Goddard Space Flight Center|Goddard Space Flight Center]] and the [[Organization:Space Telescope Science Institute|Space Telescope Science Institute]] in Maryland.<ref>{{cite web|title=NASA GISS To Help Lead Search for Habitable Exoplanets|url=http://www.giss.nasa.gov/research/news/20150421/|website=NASA, Goddard Institute for Space Studies|publisher=NASA}}</ref>

He has an extensive research record in [[Astronomy:Observational cosmology|observational cosmology]] but more recently works on topics in exoplanetary science and [[Astronomy:Astrobiology|astrobiology]].<ref name=Calebscharf>{{cite web|url=http://www.calebscharf.com/about/|website=Caleb Scharf |title=Caleb Scharf: Director of Astrobiology Columbia University}}</ref> 

==Writing==
He is the author of the upper-level undergraduate textbook ''Extrasolar Planets and Astrobiology'',<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.astro.columbia.edu/EXPA |title=Archived copy |access-date=2009-09-22 |archive-date=2010-04-14 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100414125233/http://www.astro.columbia.edu/EXPA/ |url-status=dead }}</ref> published in 2008 by University Science Books, CA. This book won the 2011 Chambliss Astronomical Writing Award and medal from the American Astronomical Society. He has many published professional papers in peer-reviewed journals, with 109 papers listed in the SAO/NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS); three have been cited over 100 times each:  the highest counts{{when|date=August 2016}} are 264<ref>Mushotzky, R. F.; Scharf, C. A., The Luminosity-Temperature Relation at z=0.4 for Clusters of Galaxies</ref> 139,<ref>Horner, Donald J.; Mushotzky, Richard F.; Scharf, Caleb A. Observational Tests of the Mass-Temperature Relation for Galaxy Clusters</ref> 116,<ref>Scharf, C. A.; Jones, L. R.; Ebeling, H.; Perlman, E.; Malkan, M.; Wegner, G. The Wide-Angle ROSAT Pointed X-Ray Survey of Galaxies, Groups, and Clusters. I. Method and First Results</ref> all in ''[[Astronomy:The Astrophysical Journal|The Astrophysical Journal]]''.<!--Counts are accurate as of when? Is it particularly relevant to include these precise numbers?-->

His blog ''Life, Unbounded'' appears at ''Scientific American'' and covers topics in astronomy, exoplanetary science, and astrobiology.

Scharf is the author of a number of popular science books. ''Gravity's Engines: The Other Side of [[Astronomy:Black hole|Black Holes]]'' (US subtitle: ''How Bubble-Blowing Black Holes Rule Galaxies, Stars, and Life in the Universe'') was published in December 2012.<ref name=":0">''Gravity's Engines: The Other Side of Black Holes'' – reviewed by Tim Radford  “Hearts of Darkness” in [https://www.theguardian.com/books/2012/dec/12/gravitys-engines-caleb-scharf-review?INTCMP=SRCH The Guardian, review section page 7 on 15 December 2012]</ref> It was listed as one of the New Scientist top 10 books to read in 2012 and as one of ''The Barnes and Noble Review'' Editors' Picks: Best Nonfiction of 2012. His next book, ''The Copernicus Complex'', was published in 2014 by Farrar, Straus and Giroux, and in 2017 ''The Zoomable Universe'', with illustrations by Ron Miller, was published by Scientific American/Farrar, Straus and Giroux.

==Bibliography==

===Textbooks===
*{{cite book |author=Scharf, Caleb A. |title=Extrasolar planets and astrobiology |location=Sausalito |publisher=University Science Books |year=2008}}<ref>Library of Congress has 2009 as copyright date.</ref>

=== Popular Science ===
*Scharf, Caleb A. (2012). ''Gravity's Engines: The Other Side of [[Astronomy:Black hole|Black Holes]]'' (US subtitle: ''How Bubble-Blowing Black Holes Rules Galaxies, Stars, and Life in the Universe'').<ref name=":0" />
*Scharf, Caleb A. (2014). ''The Copernicus Complex: Our Cosmic Significance in a Universe of Planets and Probabilities.'' New York: Scientific American / Farrar, Straus and Giroux.
*Scharf, Caleb A.; illustrations by Ron Miller (2017). ''The Zoomable Universe: An Epic Tour Through Cosmic Scale, from Almost Everything to Nearly Nothing''. New York: Scientific American / Farrar, Straus and Giroux.
*Scharf, Caleb A. (2021); ''The Ascent of Information: Books, Bits, Genes, Machines, and Life's Unending Algorithm.''
Riverhead Books.

===Essays and reporting===
*{{cite journal |author=Scharf, Caleb A. |date=May 2013 |title=Space race : a comparison of the speediest spacecraft |department=Advances. Best of the Blogs |journal=Scientific American |volume=308 |issue=5 |pages=18|doi=10.1038/scientificamerican0513-24b }}<ref>{{cite journal|title=Where do minds belong? Intelligence could have been moving back and forth between biological beings and machine receptacles for aeons|journal=Aeon|url=https://aeon.co/essays/intelligent-machines-might-want-to-become-biological-again}}</ref>

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
{{Library resources box|by=yes|about=no}}
* [http://www.astro.columbia.edu/~caleb/Caleb_Scharf_Homepage/Caleb_Scharf.html Official home page] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121226022918/http://www.astro.columbia.edu/~caleb/Caleb_Scharf_Homepage/Caleb_Scharf.html |date=2012-12-26 }} at Columbia
* [http://blogs.scientificamerican.com/life-unbounded/ Scharf's blog] at ''Scientific American''
* {{C-SPAN|77488}}
* [http://www.calebscharf.com/ Caleb Scharf, professional website]


{{DEFAULTSORT:Scharf, Caleb}}
[[Category:Astrobiologists]]

{{Sourceattribution|Caleb Scharf}}