Chancellor Ray Jayawardhana is breaking new academic boundaries

ANDin his scientific career, Ray Jayawardhanaknown to many in the astronomical community as RayJay, used the world’s largest telescopes to study the origins of planets and characterize alien worlds. He is intimately involved in solving what can only be described as one of humanity’s most important questions: are we alone in the universe?

In his role as provost, Jayawardhana also addresses big issues, leading an extensive portfolio to support discovery, learning and engagement across the university’s many departments and disciplines.

“A large part of the reason I came to Hopkins is because of the incredible momentum there is at this point.”

Jayawardhana began serving as president of Johns Hopkins University just over a year ago. An accomplished academic leader, a renowned and widely published scholar, and an award-winning author. He previously served as Dean of the College of Arts and Sciences at Cornell University, where he led Cornell’s largest and most academically diverse college, focusing on strategic priorities for faculty renewal and support, excellence in research and creativity, academic innovation, and the student experience , as well as public involvement and influence. At Cornell, he oversaw the recruitment of 130 new faculty members and 65 appointments to associate professor positions, adopted a new undergraduate curriculum, expanded first-year advising seminars, and implemented a selective and prestigious program that combines liberal arts coursework with the study of technology and data. He also established a set of coveted postdoctoral fellowships for outstanding emerging scholars, as well as a curated program for scholars in the humanities and a signature summer research program for students, while dramatically increasing public and media engagement. During his tenure, the university continued to set fundraising records, raising more than $300 million in philanthropic support.

As provost of Johns Hopkins, he serves as the university’s chief academic officer, working closely with President Daniels, deans, and JHU leaders on academic initiatives, student opportunities, and key priorities that support the university’s research and educational missions. A native of Sri Lanka, Jayawardhana earned a bachelor’s degree in astronomy and physics from Yale University and a PhD in astronomy from Harvard. He is the recipient of numerous awards and honors, including a Guggenheim Fellowship, the Rutherford Medal in Physics from the Royal Society of Canada, and the Carl Sagan Medal from the Division of Planetary Sciences of the American Astronomical Society. An asteroid (4668) Rayjay was named after him.

He is also a renowned writer whose articles have appeared in Economist, New York TimesAND Wall Street Journal. He is the author of four books, including: Strange New Worlds: The Search for Alien Planets and Life Beyond Our Solar System; Star factories: the birth of stars and planets; Neutrino Hunters: An exciting pursuit of the spooky particle to uncover the secrets of the universewhich won the Canadian Society of Science Writers Book Award; AND Child of the Universea children’s book that was intended to evoke the same fascination with our universe that inspired him as a child.

Center I recently caught up with Jayawardhana to talk about his first year as provost, research, and what’s next for him and the university.

You came to Hopkins from Cornell about a year ago. What attracted you to Hopkins?

A large part of the reason I came to Hopkins is because of the incredible scale of the place at this point. The rate of growth, progress and innovation in our schools is truly extraordinary and, one might argue, unprecedented among our peers. There has never been a better time to visit Johns Hopkins. The opportunity to be a part of this transformative effort is both exciting and humbling.

What is most important to you during your second term as rector?

I think a lot about the university we want to be academically in five to six years and the goals set out in Ten for one to achieve this vision. In my priorities as the rector, I particularly focus on initiatives strengthening academic entrepreneurship. The Chancellor’s team plays a key role in developing and elevating many of the major initiatives that support the university’s ambitions.

At the heart of these efforts are investments in our academic talent, programs and infrastructure that drive discovery, impact and improve student experiences and opportunities. An example is new investments in expanded faculties at the University of Krieger School of Arts and Sciencesand data science and artificial intelligence initiativefocused in Whiting School of Engineeringunder which we will employ 80 new faculty members and 30 new ones Bloomberg Distinguished Professorships. And we launch something new School of Government and Politicswhich will be located at ul Bloomberg Hopkins Center in Washington, D.C. Several other new landmark buildings are being built on our Baltimore campuses that will further strengthen our research and teaching.

We have also launched programs that open up new opportunities for impact, such as the one recently announced Rector’s scholarship holders for public engagement and last summer we started a new one Arts Task Forcewhich I hope will not only elevate the role of the arts on campus, but also strengthen connections with local, national and international communities and partners. Johns Hopkins Medicine is in the midst of a significant transformation, and I am working with Dean DeWeese, President Daniels and others to support this work. As Chief Academic Officer of this university, all of this relates to what I see as the immediate priorities for the coming year, namely ensuring the success of these initiatives and ultimately ensuring that they enable the overarching vision set out in the document to be realized Ten for one.

“Thinking about where we can push boundaries, where we can be bold and open up opportunities to learn and discover in new ways. That is my basic guiding principle.”

Higher education has been highly politicized in recent years. There seems to be a growing distrust of academia and science these days. How to counteract this?

For me, growing up in Sri Lanka, top American universities were something of a beacon on a hill. They really had a huge impact on my view of the United States and, I think, a huge impact on the country’s economy and leadership in research and innovation. I think institutions like Hopkins play an incredibly important role in our democracy, in our society. It is therefore our responsibility to proactively engage as many of our fellow citizens as possible.

My interest in public engagement aligns with this aspiration. This means welcoming the entire population of the country to our campuses and engaging here, on and off campus, with a wide range of communities. This is part of the motivation behind the Provost’s Fellows program, designed to enable our faculty to share the importance of their research with a broader audience and bring expert voices to public conversations. I think we can be more thoughtful and conscious in our efforts to achieve true inclusion across dimensions. I believe that to remain relevant and influential, institutions like Johns Hopkins have the opportunity and necessity to engage broadly, be welcoming and proactive.

Moving more into the intellectual realm, Johns Hopkins is involved in quite a large number of large space and astronomy projects and missions. The Dragonfly mission to Titan, the Parker Solar Probe, the James Webb Space Telescope, missions to the Moon, just to name a few. Tell us a little about your research.

My research group focuses on characterizing planets orbiting other stars and investigating the origins and diversity of stars, planets and brown dwarfs. We use large telescopes on the ground, mainly in Hawaii and Chile, and in space for observations. I was involved in the development of one of the four science instruments for the James Webb Space Telescope, called NIRISS. It is used to study the atmospheres of exoplanets, measure their composition and conditions, understand how Earth and our solar system stack up in a cosmic context, and pave the way for searching for signs of life elsewhere.

It was a very exciting time in our research. A postdoc in my group recently led a paper reporting the discovery free-floating objects of planetary mass in a nearby young star cluster. Our findings aim to investigate the lowest-mass objects that can form in a star-like manner from shrinking clouds of gas and dust. A former Ph.D. student led study of ultrahot Jupiter using the new high-resolution spectrograph on the Gemini South telescope.

How does your academic background influence your approach to your work as a rector?

Well, I’m a scientist at heart, so curiosity has always been my motivation. I try to apply the same ethos to my role as vice-chancellor – thinking about where we can push boundaries, where we can be bold and open up opportunities to learn and discover in new ways. This is my basic guiding principle. When people bring me new ideas or I’m working on some administrative matter, I always want to engage intellectually. What’s interesting about it? What is the essence of this idea and how can we implement it in a way that is hopefully different from how others do it to increase positive impact?

On a more personal level, you’re new to Baltimore. What about time for hobbies and entertainment and exploring a new city?

I have run along the waterfront of Lake Cayuga in Ithaca and enjoy finding running paths in the Baltimore area, including trails near Lake Roland. I also take tennis lessons – it keeps me humble! It was fun to explore Baltimore and Washington with our kids and connect with friends in the area.