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About

Eric Stempels is an astronomer and instrument scientist whose work bridges the frontiers of exoplanet discovery and precision spectroscopy. His primary research focuses on the development of cutting-edge spectrographs for detecting and characterizing exoplanets, particularly around low-mass M-dwarf stars. Stempels is best known for his leadership in designing HARPS3, a high-resolution echelle spectrograph (R≈115,000) destined for the roboticized Isaac Newton Telescope. This instrument, detailed in his 2016 paper (34 citations), is engineered to achieve exceptional radial velocity precision, enabling the detection of Earth-mass planets in habitable zones. Earlier, Stempels contributed to the MEarth project (2009, 10 citations), which searches for transiting super-Earths around nearby M-dwarfs. By targeting these small, cool stars, MEarth can detect 2-Earth-radius planets with shallow 0.5% photometric dips—signals accessible from the ground. His work has been instrumental in pushing the limits of ground-based exoplanet detection, combining innovative instrumentation with strategic target selection. With over 40 citations across his key papers, Stempels continues to shape the next generation of exoplanet surveys, making him a pivotal figure in the quest to find habitable worlds beyond our solar system.