Aaron Roodman

Professor of Particle Physics and Astrophysics

Aaron Roodman is a professor of Particle Physics & Astrophysics at the SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory, specializing in observational cosmology. Trained in experimental particle physics, he spent two decades studying differences between Matter and antiMatter, before turning his research to astrophysics and cosmology. Roodman’s current research focuses on the study of Dark Energy using images from the Vera C. Rubin Observatory. He has played a major role in the construction of the LSST Camera, the world's largest digital camera, and is currently the leader of the LSST Camera program and Deputy Director of the Rubin Observatory for construction.

Research Projects

Dark Energy Spectroscopic Instrument

DESI is the heart of a ground-based survey that will spend the first half of the next decade pinpointing the locations and spectra of up to 35 million galaxies and 2.4 million quasars across one-third of the night sky.

NSF-DOE Vera C. Rubin Observatory's Legacy Survey of Space and Time

The Legacy Survey of Space and Time (LSST) is a planned 10-year survey of the southern sky that will take place at the NSF-DOE Vera C. Rubin Observatory, located on the El Peñon peak of Cerro Pachón in northern Chile.

Research Highlights

The bold bet that built a telescope

August 1, 2025

Two decades ago, Stanford & SLAC took a gamble on an unproven telescope design with no funding, no home, and no official backing. Now, with first images in hand, it's paying off!