Luis Welbanks
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Mail code: 6004Campus: Tempe
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Dr. Luis Welbanks is an astrophysicist and an Assistant Professor in the School of Earth and Space Exploration. He specializes in the characterization of exoplanet atmospheres with the goal of understanding their composition, chemistry, climates, and origins.
His research integrates statistical and computational methods with observations from ground- and space-based facilities including the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST). He leads the Exoteric Lab at ASU, which develops new techniques to interpret spectroscopic data from exoplanet atmospheres and bridge the gap between theory and observation. Professor Welbanks is a former NASA Sagan Fellow, 51 Pegasi b Fellow, and Presidential Postdoctoral Fellow.
Research interests:
- Characterization of exoplanet atmospheres
- Data science, astrostatistics, and Bayesian inference methods
- Radiative transfer and computational physics
- Atmospheric chemistry and its connection to planet formation
- PhD, Astronomy. Institute of Astronomy, University of Cambridge, United Kingdom. (2017-2021)
- Master of Science, Physics and Astronomy (Astrophysics). University of Calgary, Canada. (2015-2017)
- Bachelor of Science with Honours, Double Major (Physics & Astrophysics) . University of Calgary, Canada. (2011-2015)
Characterization of planetary atmospheres using novel retrieval techniques and forward models.
- Exoplanet atmospheric characterization from space- and ground-based spectroscopy
- Statistical and computational methods for robust atmospheric inference
- Radiative transfer, atmospheric chemistry, and climate processes
- Connections between atmospheres, planetary interiors, and formation pathways
- Preparation for next-generation observatories and Ocean Worlds missions
First-author publications
- Welbanks, L. & Nixon, M., et al. "The Challenges of Detecting Gases in Exoplanet Atmospheres" 2025, Nature Astronomy, In Press.
- Welbanks, L.; Bell, T. J.; Beatty, T. G.; Line, M. R.; Ohno, K.; et al. "A high internal heat flux and large core in a warm Neptune exoplanet" 2024. Nature, 630, 8018, 836-840.
- Welbanks, L.; McGill, P.; Line, M.; Madhusudhan, N. "On the Application of Bayesian Leave-one-out Cross-validation to Exoplanet Atmospheric Analysis" 2023. The Astronomical Journal, 165, 3, 112.
- Welbanks, L.; Madhusudhan, N. "On Atmospheric Retrievals of Exoplanets with Inhomogeneous Terminators" 2022. The Astrophysical Journal, 933, 1, 79.
- Welbanks, L.; Madhusudhan, N. "Aurora: A Generalized Retrieval Framework for Exoplanetary Transmission Spectra" 2021. The Astrophysical Journal, 913, 2, 114.
- Welbanks, L.; et al. "Mass-Metallicity Trends in Transiting Exoplanets from Atmospheric Abundances of H2O, Na, and K" 2019. The Astrophysical Journal, 887, 1, L20.
- Welbanks, L.; Madhusudhan, N. "On Degeneracies in Retrievals of Exoplanetary
Courses
2026 Spring
| Course Number | Course Title |
|---|---|
| SES 799 | Dissertation |
| SES 692 | Research |
| SES 792 | Research |
| SES 230 | Coding for Exploration |
2025 Fall
| Course Number | Course Title |
|---|---|
| SES 792 | Research |
- 51 Pegasi b Fellowship. The Heising-Simons Foundation.
- Presidential Postdoctoral Fellowship. Arizona State University.
- Sagan Fellow, NASA Hubble Fellowship
- Murdin Prize, Institute of Astronomy, University of Cambridge
- Selected as part of the Top 75 Alumni by Tecnológico de Monterrey (ITESM) Mexico
- Gates Cambridge Scholar, University of Cambridge.
Professor Welbanks is actively engaged in professional service through roles on science organizing committees, telescope time allocation panels, and as a referee for leading journals. He has contributed to NASA review panels for JWST, HST, and Keck, served on ExoPAG study groups, and reviewed proposals for international agencies. At ASU and beyond, he supports departmental and community initiatives, including leadership in postdoctoral committees and diversity efforts. He is also deeply involved in public outreach, founding Astronomy on Tap: Valley of the Sun and giving lectures for schools, museums, and astronomy clubs in the U.S., Mexico, and the U.K.