Kari Haworth

Kavli Institute for Particle Astrophysics and Cosmology, Center for Astrophysics Harvard & Smithsonian

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About

Kari Haworth is an observational astronomer whose work centers on time-domain astrophysics and the development of cutting-edge infrared instrumentation. As a key contributor to the Wide-Field Infrared Transient Explorer (WINTER), Haworth has helped pioneer a new era in the study of cosmic transients. WINTER, deployed on a dedicated 1-meter robotic telescope at Palomar Observatory, is designed to perform a seeing-limited, time-domain survey of the infrared sky. Its primary science goal is the robotic follow-up of kilonovae—the electromagnetic counterparts to binary neutron star mergers—enabling rapid, multi-wavelength characterization of these cataclysmic events. Haworth’s foundational paper on the instrument (2020, 39 citations) and the subsequent commissioning report (2024, 6 citations) detail the technical innovations and early performance of this facility. By pushing into the near-infrared, WINTER overcomes dust extinction and probes the unique emission from neutron star mergers, directly advancing gravitational-wave astrophysics. Haworth’s work exemplifies the critical role of new instrumentation in unlocking transient phenomena, and their contributions are shaping the future of time-domain astronomy.