Slava Turyshev
Slava G. Turyshev is an astrophysicist at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL), California Institute of Technology, and a professor in the Department of Physics and Astronomy at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA). He earned an M.S. in physics (with honors) and a Ph.D. in quantum field theory from Lomonosov Moscow State University, Russia, in 1987 and 1990, respectively, and a Doctor of Science (D. Sc.) degree in astrophysics from the same university in 2008. Dr. Turyshev's research focuses on gravitational and fundamental physics, relativistic astrophysics, gravitational waves, and planetary science. His expertise encompasses high-precision spacecraft navigation, relativistic celestial mechanics, solar system dynamics, satellite and lunar laser ranging, detection and characterization of near-Earth objects (NEOs), and the development of advanced space technologies. Dr. Turyshev served as the NASA Project Scientist for the CNES/ESA MICROSCOPE mission (2016–2020), which conducted precision tests of the Equivalence Principle. Since 2015, he has been the JPL Principal Investigator for the Advanced Lunar Laser Ranging Facility at the Table Mountain Observatory, designed to enhance tests of general relativity and study the Moon’s deep interior. From 2003 to 2012, he was the Principal Investigator for the Pioneer Anomaly investigation, resolving a longstanding puzzle in spacecraft dynamics. Between 2017 and 2022, he led NASA Innovative Advanced Concepts (NIAC) Phases I–III as Principal Investigator, developing mission architectures to utilize the solar gravitational lens (SGL) for high-resolution imaging and spectroscopy of exoplanets. Since 2023, Dr. Turyshev has served as a member of the Executive Committee of NASA’s Fundamental Physics Advisory Group (FunPAG), advising on the strategic direction of space-based fundamental physics research. He has authored over 230 peer-reviewed research papers and two books and is an Academician of the International Academy of Astronautics (IAA).
NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory