William J. Borucki

[2] In light of this work, Borucki was named the principal investigator for NASA's Kepler space telescope mission, launched on March 7, 2009[1] and dedicated to a transit-based search for habitable planets.

[2] As a part of this research, Borucki conducted analysis based on observations from space probes in order to find the frequency of lightning on other planets within the Solar System.

[2] Until his retirement in July 2015,[8] Borucki was the chief investigator for the Kepler space telescope, designed to hunt for exoplanets with the transit method.

[10] He received the 2013 Henry Draper Medal from the United States National Academy of Sciences[6] "For his founding concept, unflagging advocacy, and visionary leadership during the development of NASA's Kepler mission, which has uncovered myriad planets and solar systems with unforeseen and surprising properties.

"[11] and the 2015 Shaw Prize in Astronomy for "his conceiving and leading the Kepler mission, which greatly advanced knowledge of both extrasolar planetary systems and stellar interiors.

William J. Borucki (date unknown).
The effort to launch Kepler was spearheaded by Borucki, who is now its principal investigator. [ 6 ]