Dr Gordon (Kai Hou) Yip is a Lecturer in Physics (AI) in the Department of Physics, King's College London. His main research interest lies in understanding the nature of remote exoplanets, particularly through developing new approaches to interpret spectroscopic data from space-based and ground-based telescopes such as JWST and Ariel. This work connects directly to his role as ML Lead Coordinator of the ML Working Group for the ESA Ariel Space Mission, where he is heavily involved in mission preparation activities.

Dr Yip received his BSc and MSci in Astrophysics from University College London, before completing a PhD in Data Intensive Science (Astrophysics) under the supervision of Professor Ingo Waldmann and Professor Giovanna Tinetti. Following his doctoral studies, he served as a Postdoctoral Research Associate in the Exoplanet Group at UCL (2021-2024), subsequently advancing to Senior Research Fellow and Associate Lecturer in the Department of Physics and Astronomy at UCL (2024-2025), before joining King's College London.

Beyond his technical research, Dr Yip is passionate about engaging with the broader community. He is Principal Investigator of the Ariel Data Challenge (https://www.ariel-datachallenge.space/), a data competition series that invites the global Data Science community to submit solutions to problems encountered in exoplanet research. He is particularly interested in inspiring enthusiasm about AI and planetary science—how the technology could make our own planet a better place and advance our understanding of distant worlds. He also hosts hackathons at the intersection of AI and planetary science across Europe.

Research

• Exoplanet atmosphere
• Data detrending
• Statistical methods in exoplanets
• Data Science and Machine Learning

Additional Information

Gordon Yip