Astrophysicist Dr Joe Pesce (m. 1988) was recently elected Fellow of the American Physical Society “for exceptional contributions to the fundamental understanding of supermassive black holes and AGN and scientific outreach and education, and for leadership in, and service to, astrophysics.” According to the APS, no more than 0.05% of the Society’s membership is recognised by their peers for election to Fellowship status each year.  

Joe has held research positions at the Space Telescope Science Institute and the Pennsylvania State University and he is currently a Program Director at the US National Science Foundation, responsible for most of the US Government's ground-based radio astronomy facilities.

In addition to his day job, he is a part-time Professor at George Mason University (Fairfax, Virginia) and a Visiting Professor at the University of Colorado (Boulder, Colorado), and is passionate about public outreach, working as an ambassador for science in general and astrophysics specifically. Among other activities, he has made numerous television and podcast appearances and has served as science advisor to television, film, and book productions. Currently, he is co-authoring STEM-based books for children and young-adult readers.