David Gerdes

Background

About David Gerdes

I'm the Dean of Arts and Sciences and Professor of Physics at Case Western Reserve University, where I oversee 21 academic departments from the physical and life sciences, social sciences, humanities, and the performing arts. I also oversee several major centers including the Baker-Nord Institute for the Humanities, the Schubert Center for Child Studies, and the Dittrick Medical History Center. Before joining CWRU in 2025, I was a faculty member at the University of Michigan for 27 years, and chaired the Physics department for six years. I'm an academic leader, an astrophysicist, and award-winning university teacher with interests ranging from the outer solar system to the large-scale structure and evolution of the universe. In my 25+ year academic career I've published hundreds of scientific papers and mentored dozens of undergraduate and graduate students. I've received funding from the Department of Energy, the National Science Foundation, and NASA, and am a Fellow of the American Physical Society. I especially enjoy searching for small signals in large, noisy data sets. Early in my career I was part of the team that discovered the top quark. More recently, I've discovered over 100 new members of the solar system beyond Neptune, including the possible dwarf planet 2014 UZ224 ("DeeDee"). In 2024 the International Astronomical Union named the asteroid 208117 Davidgerdes in my honor.