Philip is the Departmental Chair and Professor in the Physics and Astronomy Department at the University of Iowa. Kaaret studies X-rays and gamma-rays from black holes, neutron stars, and the hot gas surrounding galaxies. He led the design and construction at the University of Iowa of HaloSat, which was the first CubeSat funded by NASA’s Astrophysics Division and studied the hot halo of the Milky Way galaxy.

Research Interests: 

X-ray and gamma-ray astronomy and instrumentation; CubeSats; black hole binaries; galactic X-ray halos.

Research: 

• X-ray binaries, ultraluminous X-ray sources, intermediate mass black holes
• Galactic X-ray halo, missing baryon problem
• Instrumentation for space-based astronomy, CubeSats
• Students build instruments for launch into space
• Students use satellite based observatories
• Students develop skills in electronics, data analysis, and programming