Welcome

I am Jiaxuan Li (pronounced Lǐ Jiā Xuān), a Brinson Prize Fellow at Stanford University's Kavli Institute for Particle Astrophysics and Cosmology (KIPAC). I am an astrophysicist studying dwarf galaxies, dark matter, and galaxy formation in the nearby universe. My research combines deep imaging, large sky surveys, numerical simulations, and statistical methods to understand how the smallest galaxies form and evolve. I lead the ELVES-Dwarf survey, which is building a statistical census of satellite systems around dwarf galaxies in the Local Volume.

Before joining Stanford, I earned my Ph.D. in Astrophysical Sciences from Princeton University in 2026, advised by Prof. Jenny Greene. I completed my undergraduate studies in astrophysics at Peking University. I grew up in Dingxi, Gansu Province, in northwestern China, and became an amateur astronomer in sixth grade. Outside astronomy, I enjoy photography, hiking, rock climbing (but not bouldering!), and exploring whisky.