The Department of Astronomy is proud to highlight the below exceptional undergraduate researchers who exemplify the spirit of scientific discovery that defines our community. Their dedication and creativity will be on full display this Spring as many present their work at the prestigious UW Mary Gates Undergraduate Research Symposium. These students represent the bright future of astronomy, and we celebrate their remarkable achievements!
Giovanni Gollotti
Senior Giovanni Gollotti, working under the guidance of UW graduate students Andy Tzanidakis and Tobin Wainer, along with Professor James Davenport, has spent the past nine months investigating a fascinating stellar mystery. Their project, "Two Intriguing Transits of HIP 23309 Observed by TESS," focuses on a young, active M0 dwarf star that has displayed unusual asymmetrical dips in its light curve as detected by the Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite (TESS). Through analysis of both TESS photometric data and radial velocity measurements from the High Accuracy Radial Velocity Planet Searcher (HARPS) spectrograph, Giovanni has determined these intriguing dips could be attributed to either dust or a transiting brown dwarf with a circumstellar ring. The work, which earned Giovanni the prestigious Chambliss poster prize at the January AAS meeting, demonstrates exceptional analytical skills and represents a significant contribution to our understanding of stellar phenomena.
Dylan Berry
Senior Dylan Berry is pushing the boundaries of extragalactic research under the mentorship of Dr. Gourav Khullar. Their innovative project utilizes cutting-edge photometric and spectroscopic data from the James Webb Space Telescope to perform Spectral Energy Distribution (SED) fitting on spatially resolved strongly lensed galaxies. This sophisticated technique allows Dylan to extract crucial information about distant galaxies that would otherwise remain inaccessible, contributing valuable insights to our understanding of galactic evolution across cosmic time. Dylan will present the findings in a talk at the Mary Gates Undergraduate Research Symposium this May!
Elliott Burdett
Junior Elliott Burdett, mentored by Professor Nora Shipp, is already making significant contributions to our understanding of the Milky Way's structure and evolution. Their research leverages extensive survey data to discover and characterize stellar stream candidates surrounding our galaxy—remnants of dwarf galaxies and star clusters that have been gravitationally disrupted by the Milky Way. This work provides crucial insights into our galaxy's formation history and the distribution of dark matter. Elliott will present the findings at the Mary Gates Symposium this May!
Ryan Krismer
Recent graduate Ryan Krismer, working with Dr. Ansel Neunzert in the Division of Physical Sciences at UW Bothell is continuing to focus on detector characterization for LIGO, performing sophisticated data analysis on gravitational wave strain spectra to catalog persistent narrow spectral artifacts arising from non-astrophysical sources. By identifying these noise sources, Ryan's research increases the probability of detecting continuous gravitational waves from astrophysical sources such as rapidly rotating non-axisymmetric neutron stars. While not presenting at the Mary Gates Symposium, Ryan recently showcased their research on neutron star equation of state simulations at the Research Symposium for the Physical Sciences.
Caitlin Igel
Senior Caitlin Igel, under the guidance of Dr. Aritra Ghosh and Professor Andy Connolly, is tackling fundamental questions about galaxy evolution through a massive data analysis project. This ambitious research involves analyzing approximately three million galaxies from the Hyper Suprime-Cam survey spanning a redshift of 0.3-0.7 to investigate the relationship between bulge-to-total light ratio and environmental density. This comprehensive approach allows Caitlin to explore how galactic structure correlates with cosmic environment, providing insights into the mechanisms driving galaxy evolution. The findings will be presented in a talk at the Mary Gates Research Symposium!
Elizabeth Pawelka
Senior Elizabeth Pawelka, mentored by Professors Rory Barnes and Baptiste Journaux, is conducting groundbreaking research at the intersection of astronomy and planetary science. Her project involves simulating hydrosphere structures of TRAPPIST-1h using experimentally driven temperature- and pressure-dependent thermodynamic properties of water. This innovative approach seeks to identify potential liquid water layers on this distant exoplanet—a crucial factor in assessing habitability. She will present her findings in an oral talk at the Mary Gates Undergraduate Research Symposium this spring, and encourages the astronomy community to attend in support!
Jerusalem Sintayehu
Senior Jerusalem Sintayehu, working with Professor Rory Barnes, is investigating the critical role magnetic fields play in atmospheric retention on exoplanets. The research focuses specifically on atmospheric escape dynamics for the fascinating TRAPPIST-1 system, aiming to define the conditions that would allow these planets to maintain atmospheres and thus, the potential for habitability. This work addresses key questions in exoplanet science by combining theoretical models with observational constraints to better understand the factors that influence planetary habitability.
We encourage the entire astronomy community to attend their presentations at the upcoming symposia to celebrate and support these emerging scientists as they share their discoveries. Their accomplishments today foreshadow the important roles they will play in advancing our understanding of the universe tomorrow.