A member of the faculty since 2005, Prof. Stanek is an observational astrophysicist working on massive stars, supernovae, gamma-ray bursts, and the cosmological distance scale. Among his research accomplishments, Prof. Stanek and collaborators showed conclusively that gamma-ray bursts are directly linked to the deaths of massive stars and pioneered the use of red clump stars as a distance indicator in the Galaxy and beyond. An overarching theme of Prof. Stanek’s work is a focus on time-domain astronomy, variability, and transients. With Prof. Kochanek and other collaborators, he is currently working on a new project to discover supernovae in the local universe using a dedicated all-sky automated survey. In 2018, Prof. Stanek was named a University Distinguished Scholar.