Stuart Shaklan

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About

Stuart Shaklan is a leading figure in high-contrast imaging and exoplanet direct detection, with a career centered on advancing coronagraph technology for space-based telescopes. His most notable contribution is his pivotal role in the Astrophysics Focused Telescope Assets (AFTA) coronagraph study, which demonstrated that a high-contrast stellar coronagraph could be integrated into the WFIRST (now Roman Space Telescope) mission, despite the challenging AFTA pupil design. This work, detailed in his 2013 paper (13 citations), laid the technical foundation for the Roman Coronagraph Instrument—a flagship technology demonstrator for imaging exoplanets. Shaklan’s expertise in wavefront sensing and control, starlight suppression, and optical system design has been instrumental in pushing the limits of contrast ratios, enabling the detection of planets a billion times fainter than their host stars. His contributions have directly shaped NASA’s strategic roadmap for future observatories, including the Habitable Worlds Observatory. With decades of experience at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Shaklan’s research continues to inspire the next generation of astronomers and engineers working to directly image Earth-like worlds.