
David Pooley, Ph.D.
- Associate Professor , Physics and Astronomy
David Pooley was born and raised in New Orleans and spent a decade in Boston, a few years in San Francisco, and nearly a year in Madison. Of all the places he’s lived, central Texas is his favorite.
Pooley’s research focuses on extreme and energetic astrophysical phenomena, studied primarily with the most energetic forms of light – X-rays and gamma rays – and supplemented by observations with radio, infrared, and optical light. He enjoys working with undergraduate research students on the reduction and analysis of data from NASA’s premiere satellites, including the Hubble Space Telescope, Chandra X-ray Observatory, Fermi Gamma-ray Space Telescope, and Swift Gamma-ray Burst Mission. Pooley also goes on several observing runs each year at McDonald Observatory near Fort Davis, and he is in the process of refurbishing, automating, and roboticizing the 16” telescope atop Marrs McLean.
Pooley has been PI or Observing Co-I on 67 successful Chandra proposals, 4 successful Hubble proposals, 10 successful XMM-Newton proposals, 1 successful Fermi proposal, 7 successful McDonald Observatory proposals, and 2 successful Magellan proposals. He has also received a NASA Astrophysics Data Analysis Program grant and a Cottrell College Science Award from the Research Corporation for Scientific Advancement.
These proposals and awards have resulted in over $4.2 million in funding to date.