Meet Our Team
Karan Jani, Director
Dr. Karan Jani is a professor of physics & astronomy at Vanderbilt University. He is the founding director of the Vanderbilt Lunar Labs Initiative and holds the endowed position of Cornelius Vanderbilt Dean’s Faculty. Karan’s research is at the forefront of understanding black holes and testing Albert Einstein’s General Theory of Relativity with gravitational-wave detectors on the earth, moon, and in space.
He earned his Ph.D. in Physics from the Georgia Institute of Technology. He received Bachelor of Science degrees in Physics and Astronomy-Astrophysics, with a minor in Mathematics, from Pennsylvania State University. He has held visiting positions at Yale, Perimeter Institute for Theoretical Physics, and Albert Einstein Institute (Germany).
Kelly Holley-Bockelmann, Core Faculty
Kelly is a professor of astrophysics who works on gravitational waves, galaxy dynamics, gravitational waves, and black holes of all kinds. She brings the LLI her experience as the chair of the U.S. Laser Interferometer Space Antenna (LISA) Study Team and years of experience working with NASA. As the Director of Vanderbilt’s EMIT Program and Co-Director of the Fisk-Vanderbilt Masters-to-PhD Bridge Program, she’s working to help build a field that’s vibrant, inclusive and supportive for everyone.
Robert Reed, Core Faculty
Robert is a Professor of Electrical Engineering and Associate Chair of the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering at Vanderbilt. While he has extensive experience across the fields of electrical and computer engineering, his participation in the Lunar Labs Initiative is largely backed by his forward-looking research and development associated with the physics of why electronic and photonic devices and integrated circuits fail. His experience developing new approaches for survivability testing of electronics and photonics are integral to the development of lunar lab efforts, as well as his experience as lead radiation effects engineer for various NASA missions including Hubble Space Telescope and James Webb Space Telescope.