MEET THE TEAM: BENJAMIN PROUFDFOOT, PH.D.
BENJAMIN’S BIOGRAPHY
Dr. Benjamin Proudfoot is a postdoctoral scholar at the Florida Space Institute, under the supervision of Estela Fernandez-Valenzuela. He received a BS in Physics and Astronomy from Brigham Young University in 2019, He graduated with a Ph.D. in Physics & Astronomy from Brigham Young University in 2023. While there, he worked with Darin Ragozzine. His doctoral dissertation focused on understanding the dynamics of trans-Neptunian objects, especially those that were part of a binary system.
BENJAMIN’S RESEARCH
Dr. Proudfoot’s research primarily focuses on understanding the formation, evolution, and physical states of trans-Neptunian objects (TNOs). He is particularly interested in TNO satellites and binary companions. By understanding their orbits, much can be learned about TNO binaries/satellites, providing fundamental insight into the formation of small bodies in the solar system. He is one of the lead developers of MultiMoon, a state-of-the-art tool used for understanding TNO binary orbits. As part of the MultiMoon project, Dr. Proudfoot has been awarded time on the Hubble Space Telescope to study a variety of TNOs. Currently, Dr. Proudfoot is focused on leveraging his dynamical expertise to predict stellar occultations of TNO satellites.
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