DEPARTMENT OF PHYSICS AND ASTRONOMY

Adam Miller is an optical survey astronomer working at the intersection of time-domain astronomy and data science with the aim of improving our understanding of stellar evolution. Recent efforts in his research group have focused on building machine learning methods to streamline the discovery and classification of electromagnetic transients. In 2023, Dr. Miller’s group produced the first-ever fully automated observation, identification, request for follow-up, spectroscopic classification, and public announcement of a supernova to the astronomical community.  The focus on rapid, automated discoveries of supernovae has fueled many studies on the nature of stellar explosions. In particular, on-going efforts are strongly focused on understanding the progenitor systems of Type Ia supernovae (SNe Ia) and whether “low mass” white dwarfs can produce a significant fraction of the normal SNe Ia that we observe via the double detonation mechanism. Dr. Miller is the Director of the La Silla Schmidt Southern Survey, which his group will use to develop new artificial intelligence systems and find more double-detonation SNe. 

Dr. Miller is also the Director of the LSST-DA Data Science Fellowship Program, a training fellowship for graduate students in astronomy (and related fields) that provides training in cutting-edge data science methods, which will be important to analyze data from the Vera C. Rubin Observatory’s Legacy Survey of Space and Time. 

View Adam Miller's publications

Awards and Honors

CIERA Fellow 2018—2021
NASA Hubble Postdoctoral Fellow   2013—2016
Gates Cambridge Scholar 2006—2007
Louis Sudler Prize in the Arts 2006