Siegfried Eggl

For More Information

• Research Website

Education

• B.S., Astrophysics, University of Vienna, 2005
• M.S., Astrophysics, University of Vienna, 2008
• M.S., Computational Physics, University of Vienna, 2009
• Ph.D., Astrophysics, University of Vienna, 2013

Academic Positions

• Affiliate faculty (0%), Department of Astronomy, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, 2022-today
• NCSA faculty affiliate (0%), Center for Astrophysical Surveys (CAPS), University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, 2021-today
• Assistant Professor, Department of Aerospace Engineering, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, 2021-today
• Acting Assistant Professor, University of Washington, Seattle, WA, Astronomy, 2018-2021
• Post doctoral researcher, NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory, California Institute of Technology, Planetary Science, Pasadena, CA, 2016-2018
• Post doctoral researcher, IMCCE/Paris Observatory, Paris, France, Astronomy, 2013-2016

Design Teams

• Clear Constellation competition (https://www.clearconstellation.com/)

Research Interests

• Astrodynamics
• Planetary Defense
• Celestial Navigation
• Dynamical Systems
• Space Domain Awareness

Books Authored or Co-Authored (Original Editions)

• Pilat-Lohinger, E., Eggl, S., & Bazsó, Á. (2019). Planetary Habitability in Binary Systems (Vol. 4). World Scientific.

Chapters in Books

• Eggl, S. & Dvorak, R. (2010). An introduction to common numerical integration codes used in dynamical astronomy. In Dynamics of small solar system bodies and exoplanets (pp. 431-480). Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg.
• Eggl, S. (2018). Habitability of planets in binary star systems. Handbook of Exoplanets, ISBN 978-3-319-55332-0. Springer International Publishing AG, part of Springer Nature, 2018, id.61

Selected Articles in Journals

• Eggl, S., Farnocchia, D., Chamberlin, A. B., & Chesley, S. R. (2020), Icarus, Star catalog position and proper motion corrections in asteroid astrometry II: The Gaia era, 339, 113596.
• Makadia, R., Raducan, S. D., Fahnestock, E. G., & Eggl, S. (2022), The Planetary Science Journal, Heliocentric Effects of the DART Mission on the (65803) Didymos Binary Asteroid System, 3, 184.
• Cheng, A. F., Agrusa, H. F., Barbee, B. W., Meyer, A. J., Farnham, T. L., Raducan, S. D., Richardson, D. C., Dotto, E., Zinzi, A., Della Corte, V., Statler, T. S., Chesley, S., Naidu, S. P., Hirabayashi, M., Li, J.-Y., Eggl, S., et al. (2023), Nature, Momentum transfer from the DART mission kinetic impact on asteroid Dimorphos, 616, 457.
• Nandakumar, S., Eggl, S., Tregloan-Reed, J., Adam, C., Anderson-Baldwin, J., Bannister, M. T., Battle, A., Benkhaldoun, Z., Campbell, T., Colque, J. P., Damke, G., Plauchu Frayn, I., Ghachoui, M., Guillen, P. F., Kaeouach, A. E., Krantz, H. R., Langbroek, M., Rattenbury, N., Reddy, V., Ridden-Harper, R., Young, B., Unda-Sanzana, E., Watson, A. M., Walker, C. E., Barentine, J. C., Benvenuti, P., Di Vruno, F., Peel, M. W., Rawls, M. L., Bassa, C., Flores-Quintana, C., García, P., Kim, S., Longa-Peña, P., Ortiz, E., Otarola, Á., Romero-Colmenares, M., Sanhueza, P., Siringo, G., & Soto, M. (2023), Nature, The high optical brightness of the BlueWalker 3 satellite, 623, 938.
• Makadia, R., Chesley, S.R., Farnocchia, D., Naidu, S.P., Souami, D., Tanga, P., Tsiganis, K., Hirabayashi, M. and Eggl, S., (2024), The Planetary Science Journal, Measurability of the Heliocentric Momentum Enhancement from a Kinetic Impact: The Double Asteroid Redirection Test (DART) Mission. 5(2), p.38.
• Pascarella, A., Bommena, R., Eggl, S., Woollands, R. (2024). Mission design for space telescope servicing at Sun-Earth L2. Acta Astronautica 224, 397-414
• Georgakarakos, N., Eggl, S., Ali-Dib, M., Dobbs-Dixon, I. (2024) Empirical Stability Criteria for 3D Hierarchical Triple Systems. I. Circumbinary Planets, The Astronomical Journal, Volume 168, Issue 5, id.224, 16 pp.
• Makadia, R., Farnocchia, D., Chesley, S., Eggl, S., "Gauss-Radau Small-body Simulator (GRSS): An Open Source Library for Planetary Defense", The Planetary Science Journal, Issue 6(4), 85 pp.
• Makadia, R., Farnocchia, D., Chesley, S., Eggl, S. "A Novel Method for Computing State Transition Matrices due to the Unscented Transform", Celestial Mechanics and Dynamical Astronomy, Issue 37, no. 3 (2025): 1-16.
• Hou, L., Bansal, I., Davis, C., S. Eggl, “Position and Time Determination without Prior State Knowledge via Onboard Optical Observations of Delta Scuti Variable Stars”, The Journal of the Astronautical Sciences, Issue 72(2), p.9.

Refereed Conference Papers and Presentations

• Fawley, D., Putnam, Z, D'Souza, S., Borner, A., Eggl, S. "Evaluation of Magnet Configurations for Magnetohydrodynamic Trajectory Control during Planetary Entry", AIAA SCITECH 2025 Forum, p. 2239. 2025.

Professional Societies

• Member of the AIAA. Lead of International Relations in the Space Sustainability Working Group.
• Member of the American Astronomical Society Division on Dynamical Astronomy. The AAS is the main professional society of astronomers in the US.
• Member of the International Academy of Astronautics. The IAA is the main sponsor of the biannual Planetary Defense Conference in collaboration with the United Nations Office for Outer Space Affairs (UNOOSA).
• Member of the International Astronomical Union. Co-lead of the Centre for the Protection of the Dark and Quiet Sky from Satellite Constellation Interference. The IAU is the single most important professional society for astronomers. All definitions of astronomical reference systems and standards as well as naming of newly discovered objects and landmarks are provided through IAU committees and voted on by members during the yearly General Assembly. One can only become a member through sponsoring of the national delegation which requires a substantial publication record and contribution to astronomy and astropysics.  

Honors

• LSST Architect Award for substantial contributions to the Vera C. Rubin Observatory Legacy Survey of Space and Time (08/31/2021)
• Space Foundation 2023 Space Achievement Award with DART Team (02/08/2023)
• AIAA Award for Engineering Excellence with the DART Team. (02/13/2023)
• Asteroid 2000 GT167 named "Eggl" in honor of significant contributions to the field of planetary science. (06/21/2023)
• 2024 Engineering Council Outstanding Advisors (04/27/2024)

Research Honors

• Best paper award at 46th Annual American Astronautical Society’s Guidance, Navigation and Control Conference, Breckenridge, CO, USA (02/08/2024)

Recent Courses Taught

• AE 352 - Aerospace Dynamical Systems
• AE 502 - Advanced Orbital Mechanics
• AE 554 (TAM 516) - Dynamical Systems Theory
• AE 598 PE (AE 598 PO) - Planetary Entry