Michelle Kunimoto

Michelle Kunimoto is an assistant professor in the Department of Physics and Astronomy at the University of British Columbia.

Her research is primarily focused on exoplanet detection, characterization, and demographics. She approaches these fields in data-driven ways, developing and improving techniques to extract as much as we can from exoplanet surveys while answering key science questions along the way.

She was previously a Torres postdoctoral fellow and TESS (Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite) postdoctoral associate at MIT. She obtained my PhD in astronomy from UBC in 2020.

Exoplanet surveys have found thousands of new planets and planet candidates, revealing exciting new classes of planets and enticing targets for further characterization. Finding large numbers of planets also enables population studies and studies of planetary system architectures, helping us place the solar system in context.

Dr. Kunimoto uses the transit method to find new planets in datasets such as those from NASA’s Kepler and TESS missions. One of her planet search efforts is the ongoing TESS Faint Star Search, through which she has identified thousands of TESS Objects of Interest (TOIs). Among the Faint Star TOIs already confirmed are new multiplanet systems and planets that challenge theories of planet formation and evolution, such as giant exoplanets orbiting low-mass stars and planets in the nearly-empty hot Neptune desert.

As of July 2024, the Faint Star Search has identified more than 3200 TOIs (almost half of all TOIs), including more than 40 confirmed planets.