Faculty Profiles

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Dr. Andrea Banzatti

  • Associate Professor - Physics
Portrait of Dr. Andrea Banzatti

Biography and education

• 2013: PhD in Science, ETH Zurich, Switzerland [Thesis: Water vapor in protoplanetary disks: a probe of chemistry and physics of planet formation, advisors: Prof. Michael R. Meyer, Dr. Klaus Pontoppidan]
• 2009: Master in Physics summa cum laude, University of Milan, Italy [Thesis: Evolution of protoplanetary disks: first steps toward planet formation, advisors: Dr. Leonardo Testi, Prof. Marco Bersanelli]
• 2006: Bachelor in Physics, University of Milan, Italy [Thesis: The Sunyaev-Zeldovich Effect, advisor: Prof. Giuseppe Bertin]

Research Interests

  • Banzatti, Andrea. JWST-MIRI GO program #4727 in Cycle 3, NASA, Federal, $204587. (Submitted: 2024, Funded: September 2024 - August 31, 2027). Grant.
  • Banzatti, Andrea (Principal), Kalyaan, Anusha (Supporting). JWST-MIRI GO program #1640 in Cycle 1, NASA, Federal, $285811. (Submitted: December 3, 2020, Funded: June 2022 - May 2025). Grant.
  • Banzatti, Andrea (Principal). JWST-MIRI GO program #2025 in Cycle 1, NASA, Federal, $27625. (Submitted: December 3, 2020, Funded: June 2022 - May 2025). Grant.
  • Banzatti, Andrea (Principal). JWST-MIRI GO program #1584 in Cycle 1, NASA, Federal, $18091. (Submitted: December 3, 2020, Funded: June 2022 - May 2025). Grant.
  • Banzatti, Andrea. HST-COS program in Cycle 24, NASA, Federal, $162000. (Funded: 2017 - 2020). Grant.
View all grants
  • Banzatti, A., Salyk, C., Pontoppidan, K. M., Carr, J. S., Zhang, K., Arulanantham, N., … Collaboration, T. J. (2025). Water in Protoplanetary Disks with JWST-MIRI: Spectral Excitation Atlas and Radial Distribution from Temperature Diagnostic Diagrams and Doppler Mapping. The Astronomical Journal, 169(3), 165. https://doi.org/10.3847/1538-3881/ada962
  • Banzatti, A., Pontoppidan, K. M., Carr, J. S., Jellison, E., Pascucci, I., Najita, J. R., … Bruderer, S. (2023). JWST Reveals Excess Cool Water near the Snow Line in Compact Disks, Consistent with Pebble Drift. The Astrophysical Journal Letters, 957(2), L22. https://doi.org/10.3847/2041-8213/acf5ec
  • Banzatti, A., Abernathy, K. M., Brittain, S., Bosman, A. D., Pontoppidan, K. M., Boogert, A., … Rayner, J. T. (2022). Scanning Disk Rings and Winds in CO at 0.01–10 au: A High-resolution M-band Spectroscopy Survey with IRTF-iSHELL. The Astronomical Journal, 163(4), 174. https://doi.org/10.3847/1538-3881/ac52f0
  • Banzatti, A., Pascucci, I., Bosman, A. D., Pinilla, P., Salyk, C., Herczeg, G. J., … others. (2020). Hints for icy pebble migration feeding an oxygen-rich chemistry in the inner planet-forming region of disks. The Astrophysical Journal, 903(2), 124.
  • Banzatti, A., Pascucci, I., Edwards, S., Fang, M., Gorti, U., & Flock, M. (2019). Kinematic Links and the Coevolution of MHD Winds, Jets, and Inner Disks from a High-resolution Optical [OI] Survey. The Astrophysical Journal, 870(2), 76.
View all scholarly/creative works
  • Award / Honor Recipient: 2025 Presidential Seminar Award, Texas State University. September 2025
  • Award / Honor Recipient: 2025 Valero Award for Excellence, Texas State University. August 2025
  • Award / Honor Recipient: 2024 Presidential Distinction for Excellence in Scholarly Activity, Texas State University - College of Science and Engineering. May 2024
  • Award / Honor Recipient: 2023 College Achievement for Excellence in Teaching, Texas State University - College of Science and Engineering. 2023
  1. Reviewer / Referee

    Nature Astronomy

  2. Chair

    Review panel on Planets and Planet Formation - NASA James Webb Space Telescope Cycle 2 observations

  3. Coordinator / Organizer

    First Science Results from the James Webb Science Telescope

  4. Reviewer / Referee

    NOAO Time Allocation Committee

  5. Reviewer / Referee

    NASA Keck Time Allocation Committee

  6. Chair

    STScI workshop “Linking Exoplanets and Disks Compositions”

  7. View all activities