Rate My Professor Vishnu Reddy

Vishnu Reddy is a Professor of Planetary Sciences in the Lunar and Planetary Laboratory and Department of Planetary Sciences at the University of Arizona. He earned his Ph.D. in Earth System Science and Policy from the University of North Dakota in 2009, focusing his dissertation on a mineralogical survey of the near-Earth asteroid population, and holds an M.S. in Space Studies from the same institution. Reddy's career began with a post-doctoral researcher position at Observatório Nacional in Brazil in 2010. From 2010 to 2013, he served as Research Assistant Professor at the University of North Dakota, acting as science lead for the framing camera team at the Max-Planck Institute for Solar System Research in Germany on NASA’s Dawn mission to asteroid (4) Vesta. He subsequently worked at the Planetary Science Institute from 2013 to 2016 before joining the University of Arizona in spring 2016 as an assistant professor, advancing to full professor. In addition to his academic role, Reddy directs the Space Safety, Security and Sustainability Center (Space4) and oversees the Biosphere 2 Space Domain Awareness Observatory Complex, managing ground-based optical, infrared, and passive radio frequency space surveillance assets. He led the investigation team for NASA’s Near-Earth Object Surveyor Mission from 2015 to 2020, tasked with discovering 90% of near-Earth objects larger than 140 meters to meet the George E. Brown Congressional mandate.