Associate Professor of Physics
Use observational tools to measure the expansion history of the universe. Trying to answer big questions like 'what is dark energy?'.
Appointments and Affiliations
- Associate Professor of Physics
- Associate Professor in the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering
Contact Information
- Office Location: 120 Science Drive, Box 90305, Durham, NC 27708
- Email Address: daniel.scolnic@duke.edu
- Websites:
Education
- B.S. Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 2007
- Ph.D. Johns Hopkins University, 2013
Research Interests
Cosmology, Supernova.
Awards, Honors, and Distinctions
- Defense Science Study Group (DSSG). Institute for Defense Analysis. 2023
- Clarivate Most Highly Cited Scientists. Clarivate. 2023
- Fred Kavli Plenary Lectureship. American Astronomical Society. 2023
- Sloan Research Fellowship-Physics. Alfred P. Sloan Foundation. 2022
- Department of Energy Early Career Award. Department of Energy. 2021
- Packard Fellowship. The David and Lucille Packard Foundation. 2019
Courses Taught
- PHYSICS 791: Special Readings
- PHYSICS 556: Stellar Astrophysics
- PHYSICS 493: Research Independent Study
- PHYSICS 151L9D: Introductory Mechanics (Discussion Component)
- PHYSICS 134CN: Introduction to Astronomy
- PHYSICS 134: Introduction to Astronomy
- HOUSECS 59: House Course
In the News
- Scholars Square Off in Duke’s First Latke vs. Hamentasch Debate (Mar 10, 2026 |…
- Intersecting Perspectives (Oct 13, 2025 | Duke Today)
- Duke Alumna Selected To Be in the 24th NASA Astronaut Class (Sep 26, 2025 | Duk…
- Trinity College of Arts & Sciences Launches SPACE Initiative (Sep 2, 2025 | Tri…
- Dan Scolnic Named Presidential Fellow (Aug 12, 2025 | Duke Today)
- The Universe is Expanding More Quickly Than We Thought (Jan 27, 2025 | Trinity …
- Duke Cosmic Explorers Are Mapping Space’s Invisible Secrets (Jun 20, 2024 | Pra…
- Which Duke Scholars Made the Most Cited List? (Nov 16, 2023 | Duke Research Blo…
- Taking a Larger View of the Universe (Oct 17, 2023 | Duke Today)
- Two Duke Researchers Named Sloan Fellows (Feb 15, 2022)
- The universe is expanding faster than it should be (Dec 17, 2021 | National Geo…
- Prof. Scolnic Receives DOE Early Career Award (May 28, 2021)
- Prestigious Packard Fellowship Supports Duke Cosmologist in Answering Questions…
Representative Publications
- Cheng, Qifeng, Daniel Scolnic, Jacob A. Kurlander, Ian Chow, and Maryann Benny Fernandes. “Assessing the Vera Rubin Observatory’s Ability to Discover Asteroid Impactors before They Collide with Earth.” The Astronomical Journal 171, no. 5 (May 1, 2026): 309–309. https://doi.org/10.3847/1538-3881/ae5936.
- Chandler, Colin Orion, Pedro H. Bernardinelli, Mario Jurić, Devanshi Singh, Henry H. Hsieh, Ian Sullivan, R Lynne Jones, et al. “NSF-DOE Vera C. Rubin Observatory Observations of Interstellar Comet 3I/ATLAS (C/2025 N1).” The Astrophysical Journal Letters 1001, no. 2 (April 20, 2026): L35–L35. https://doi.org/10.3847/2041-8213/ae4b3a.
- Popovic, B., P. Shah, W. D. Kenworthy, R. Kessler, T. M. Davis, A. Goobar, D. Scolnic, et al. “The Dark Energy Survey Supernova Program: A Reanalysis Of Cosmology Results And Evidence For Evolving Dark Energy With An Updated Type Ia Supernova Calibration.” Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society, April 14, 2026. https://doi.org/10.1093/mnras/stag632.
- Fernandes, M. B., D. Scolnic, E. R. Peterson, C. Zhai, T. Linder, M. Acevedo, and D. Reichart. “Measuring the Distances to Asteroids from One Observatory in One Night with Upcoming All-sky Telescopes.” Planetary Science Journal 7, no. 4 (April 1, 2026). https://doi.org/10.3847/PSJ/ae2fe0.
- Aldoroty, L., D. Scolnic, A. Kannawadi, R. A. Knop, B. M. Rose, R. Hounsell, and M. A. Troxel. “Initial Characterization of Stellar Photometry of Roman Images from the OpenUniverse Simulations.” Astronomical Journal 171, no. 3 (March 2, 2026). https://doi.org/10.3847/1538-3881/ae3714.