LSU Science Café: Smart Parking: Astrophysics Sparks Entrepreneurship

What do exploding stars and finding a parking spot have in common? In this talk, Associate Professor Manos Chatzopoulos shares his unexpected journey from studying the universe’s most powerful explosions to launching and scaling ParkZen, a smart parking technology company. By applying skills honed in the astrophysics lab—such as programming, data modeling, and the scientific method—he developed an AI-driven system rooted in smart crowdsourcing technology that helps universities and cities optimize their parking infrastructure in real time, without expensive hardware. Chatzopoulos will discuss how the problem-solving mindset cultivated in academic science translates into real-world innovation and entrepreneurship. From writing code to model extreme supernova explosions to pitching venture capitalists and navigating startup acquisition, this talk offers a unique perspective on the value of scientific training beyond academia. About the Speaker Manos Chatzopoulos is an associate professor of physics and astronomy at LSU, where he conducts research on the life cycles of massive stars and the violent explosions that mark their deaths—supernovae. With a background in computational astrophysics, he has authored numerous publications on stellar evolution, binary mergers, and transient astrophysical phenomena, and mentors a dynamic group of graduate researchers working at the intersection of theory and simulation.