David Charbonneau is a Professor in the Department of Astronomy at Harvard University and an astronomer at the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics in Cambridge, Massachusetts.
His research goals are to detect and characterize planets orbiting other stars, particularly planets in edge-on orbits, such that the planet periodically passes in front of its star, as these systems offer unparalleled opportunities to determine the properties of the planet and its atmosphere.