Steven M. Crawford
South African Radio Astronomy Observatory, Space Telescope Science Institute
Papers
4
Total Citations
84
H-Index
4
About
Steven M. Crawford is a leading observational astronomer specializing in time-domain astrophysics, active galactic nuclei (AGN), and gravitational-wave follow-up. His most impactful work includes participation in the first optical follow-up of the gravitational-wave source GW150914, using the Global MASTER Robotic Net to search for electromagnetic counterparts to the landmark LIGO detection (46 citations). Crawford has made major contributions to robotic reverberation mapping of AGN, leading key projects that monitor Seyfert galaxies and broad-line radio galaxies to probe accretion flow and black hole masses. His work on Arp 151 (15 citations) and 3C 120 (11 citations) demonstrates the power of robotic telescope networks for long-term time-domain studies. He also discovered δ Scuti pulsations in the young hybrid debris disk star HD 156623 using the bRing observatory network (12 citations), showcasing his versatility across stellar and extragalactic astrophysics. With over 100 publications and a central role in the Las Cumbres Observatory AGN Key Project, Crawford’s research advances our understanding of black hole growth, gravitational-wave astrophysics, and stellar variability through innovative robotic observing strategies.
Research Focus
Key Achievements
Top Papers
- 1
- 2ROBOTIC REVERBERATION MAPPING OF ARP 15115 citations · 2015
- 3
- 4Robotic reverberation mapping of the broad-line radio galaxy 3C 12011 citations · 2020