Paul L. Schechter

Paul L. Schechter (born May 30, 1948) is an American astronomer and observational cosmologist.

He is the William A. M. Burden Professor of Astrophysics, Emeritus, at MIT.

He held postdoctoral positions at the Institute for Advanced Study and the University of Arizona, then went to Harvard as an assistant professor.

Schechter is known for his work establishing what is now known as the Schechter luminosity function for galaxies, and for work with William Press on what is now termed the Press–Schechter formalism.

He also developed accurate methods for measuring velocity dispersions of galaxies, analyzed the Virgocentric infall, and performed precise analyses of gravitational lenses.