Dr. Brian Kloppenborg

Smiling man in a baseball hat and t-shirt on a path in the grass with woods in the background

Dr. Brian Kloppenborg (Ph.D. Physics - Astrophysics Specialization)

Dr. Brian Kloppenborg is an astrophysicist and entrepreneur currently serving as the Executive Director of the AAVSO. He earned a Ph.D. in Physics with an astrophysics specialization from the University of Denver and a B.A. in Physics from Hastings College. Before joining the AAVSO, Dr. Kloppenborg worked as a Research Scientist at the Georgia Tech Research Institute, where he led multidisciplinary teams as a subject matter expert, lead engineer, product owner, and project director.

Dr. Kloppenborg’s research focuses on combining photometry, spectroscopy, astrometry, and long-baseline optical interferometry to deepen our understanding of eclipsing binaries, novae, and young stellar objects. His work has been published in esteemed journals, including Nature, The Astrophysical Journal, and the Journal of the AAVSO.

Throughout his career, Dr. Kloppenborg has been dedicated to fostering collaboration between amateur and professional astronomers, advancing scientific discovery, and promoting educational outreach in astronomy.

He became AAVSO Executive Director on September 16, 2022.