Andreas Faisst, born in Zurich, Switzerland, is a professional astronomer at the Infrared Processing and Analysis Center (IPAC) at the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena, California (USA). His research focuses on the study of the formation and evolution of the first galaxies in the early Universe. To accomplish this, he uses the largest telescopes on Earth (the 10-meter Keck Observatory; the Atacama Large Millimeter/Sub-millimeter Telescope (ALMA) and the Very Large Telescope (VLT) in Chile) and in Space (the Spitzer Infrared Telescope, the Hubble Space Telescope, and the James Webb Space Telescope).

Andreas is not only a professional astronomer, but also heavily involved and engaged in public outreach. Between 2009 and 2015, he led more than 300 public tours at two local Observatories in Zurich for schools, companies, and the general public. From 2010 to 2015, he was on the board of the Zurich Astronomy Association a sub-group to the Swiss Astronomy Association, primarily leading and organizing various outreach events. Since moving to California, he has been one of the main outreach science communicators in Caltech Astronomy, involved in leadership of public lectures and stargazing events as well as Astronomy on Tap Los Angeles and Astronomy on Tap Baltimore. In addition to his academic career, Andreas is a semi-professional web-designer, a former pilot for small airplanes, a pianist and a passionate volleyball player, mountain biker and swimmer, as well as a billiards player on national competition level in Switzerland.