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Jan Cami is a Full Professor in the Department of Physics and Astronomy in the Faculty of Science at Western University. Born in Aalst, Belgium, he obtained his BSc and MSc degrees in Physics from the University of Leuven. He completed additional MSc degrees and a PhD through a European program in Astronomy and Astrophysics that included studies in Portugal and the Netherlands. Following his doctoral work, he served as a National Research Council Fellow at NASA Ames Research Center in California and later became a Research Associate at the SETI Institute. In December 2006, he joined Western University as an Assistant Professor and advanced to the rank of Full Professor. Since 2010, he has served as Director of the Hume Cronyn Memorial Observatory.
Professor Cami’s research centers on observational astronomy, evolved stars including planetary nebulae, interstellar matter, astrochemistry, and molecular spectroscopy. He uses data from ground-based, airborne, and space telescopes such as the James Webb Space Telescope to investigate gas and dust in these environments. In 2010, he identified fullerenes C60 and C70—commonly known as buckyballs—in a planetary nebula, marking the largest molecular species confirmed in space at that time. He leads the ESO Diffuse Interstellar Bands Large Exploration Survey (EDIBLES) and participates in major international collaborations. His contributions have earned awards including the Canadian Astronomical Society Qilak Award for Astronomy Communications, Public Education and Outreach in 2019, the Faculty of Science Outreach Award in 2018 and 2010, the Faculty of Science Award for Excellence in Undergraduate Teaching in 2016, and a NASA Group Achievement Award in 2011. He also organizes Science Rendezvous at Western and engages in extensive public outreach.
Western University astronomers use JWST to unveil detailed image of Tc 1 nebula, buckyball birthplace, advancing astrochemistry and stellar evolution insights.
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