Haeun Chung

Haeun Chung

Assistant Research Professor / Aspera Project Scientist

University of Arizona/Steward Obersvatory

Biography

I am an assistant research professor at the Department of Astronomy/Steward Observatory at University of Arizona, as well as the project scientist of Aspera UV small-satellite mission. Before I started my current position, I was a postdoc at the Steward Observatory, worked with Prof. Erika Hamden. I did my Ph.D. at Seoul National University (SNU), Republic of Korea. I was also a research assistant/student fellow in the School of Physics at Korea Institute for Advanced Study (KIAS). My Ph.D. advisors were Prof. Yong-Sun Park at SNU and Prof. Changbom Park at KIAS. I had worked with the instrumentation group (Head: Prof. A. N. Ramaprakash) at Inter-University Centre for Astronomy and Astrophysics (IUCAA) in Pune, India during my Ph.D.

My research focus is on astronomical instrumentation and observational astronomy, in particular building UV/Optical telescope and instruments, and studying the circumgalactic medium and kinematics of galaxies.

Currently (as of July 2025), I am involved in and working on

  • Aspera, a NASA-funded UV SmallSat space telescope mission for mapping the distribution of coronal gas at around nearby galaxy halos as the project scientist,
  • SHIMCO, a NASA-funded UV sounding rocket telescope mission, as a Co-I,
  • Nox, a UV Smallsat space telescope mission concept for mapping the all-sky EUV and FUV background, as the PI,
  • GlowSat, a UV CubeSat space telescope mission concept for mapping UV airglow line distribution on LEO, as the PI,
  • Eos/Hyperion, a SMEX/MIDEX-class high-spectral resolution UV space telescope mission concept, as a Co-I,
  • K-SPEC, a ground-based multi-object fiber spectrograph for local galaxy redshift survey, as a member.

Previously, I was heavily involved in the development of optical multi-IFU spectrograph (DOTIFS) and the optical alignment of FIREBall-2, a NASA-funded UV balloon telescope.

Interests

  • Astronomical Instrumentation
  • Telescope/Instrument Optical Design
  • UV/VIS Spectroscopy
  • System Engineering
  • Circumgalactic Medium (CGM)
  • Galaxy Kinematics and Dynamics
  • Environmental Effects on Galaxy Properties

Education

  • Ph.D. in Astronomy, 2019

    Seoul National University (SNU), Seoul, Korea

  • B.S. in Physics, 2012

    Pohang University of Science and Technology (POSTECH), Pohang, Korea

Recent News

[05/20/2025] Aspera will be launched via Rocket Lab’s Electron Rocket from Rocket Lab’s Launch Complex 1 in Māhia, New Zealand, in May 2026 (TBC)! https://news.arizona.edu/news/nasa-selects-rocket-u-led-aspera-mission

[11/16/2022] WE ARE HIRING!! We are looking for a postdoc to work with us on UV spectroscopic/imaging data analysis using FUSE/GALEX archival data. Details can be found on here and here. Due date for the application is Jan 3rd, 2023. Please feel free to reach out to me if you have any question on it.

[10/07/2022] We have awarded a NASA ADAP Grant ($423K) to study warm-hot halo gas by using archival FUSE data (PI: Haeun Chung, Co-Is: Carlos Vargas and Erika Hamden).

[09/14/2022] Aspera Internal Preliminary Design Review (PDR) is successfully done over Sep. 13-14 via virtual and in-person meeting at Drake Building, University of Arizona.

[12/16/2021] Nox (PI: Haeun Chung) is proposed to 2021 NASA Astrophysics Research and Analysis AO ($10M).

See previous news

Experience

 
 
 
 
 

Assistant Research Professor

University of Arizona

Jul 2021 – Present Tucson, AZ, USA
 
 
 
 
 

Postdoctoral Research Associate

University of Arizona

Sep 2019 – Jun 2021 Tucson, AZ, USA
 
 
 
 
 

Research Assistant/Student Fellow

Korea Institute for Advanced Study

Mar 2012 – Aug 2019 Seoul, Korea
 
 
 
 
 

Undergraduate Researcher

University of Minnesota, Twin Cities

Jan 2011 – May 2011 Minneapolis, MN, USA

CV & Links

Contact

Please use below form or find my email address in my CV.

  • 933 N Cherry Ave, Tucson, AZ 85721