A New Graduate Cohort Arrives at Steward Observatory
This year's incoming graduate students' research interests range from tidal disruption events and hydrodynamic simulations to gravitational lenses and high-redshift quasars.
This fall, nine new graduate students begin their journeys in the Department of Astronomy. They come from Chile, Brazil, China, and across the United States, bringing with them a remarkable range of questions about the universe.
Their research interests span widely. Some are looking at the largest scales: Hugo Cortés Muñoz, who arrives from the University of Chile, will study the gas between and around galaxies, and Katherine Panebianco, a recent MIT graduate, will hunt for quasars shining from the early universe. Holden Nix, from UC Santa Cruz, is studying galaxy clusters that act as gravitational lenses.
Others have research interests within our own galaxy. Ze’ev Vladimir, who studied at the University of Maryland and then spent a year at the University of Chicago, will simulate the Milky Way’s interactions with its neighboring Magellanic Clouds, and Maddie Chapleski, from the University of Virginia, will search for planets around nearby stars.
Still others are drawn to cosmic drama: Wenkai Li, who studied at the University of Science and Technology of China, wants to understand tidal disruption events, “when a black hole tears apart a star,” and Bernard Monteiro de Barros Leal, from Michigan State University, will be working on what his advisor calls “supernova stuff.” For some, the work will begin with missions still taking shape, including Aspera and the Lazuli Space Observatory.
Many of our incoming grad students can trace their path to similar sparks. Wenkai was “first drawn to astronomy as a kid by beautiful images of nebulae,” and went on to become an amateur astronomer. Hugo says he has “wanted to be a scientist for as long as I can remember,” and hopes to bring his expertise back home in Chile, where some of the world’s best observatories stand. For Katherine, it was the sheer wonder of observation: “it’s so cool to me that we can observe objects that are so far away from us.”
What brings them to Steward? Holden points to the size of the department and the many research pathways it offers. Maddie, who grew up in Virginia, likes that “there is someone for almost every branch of astronomy you can imagine.” Ze’ev cites Steward’s research opportunities and computing resources, which fit his goal of developing cutting-edge simulations. Wenkai, who interned here before applying, says the people and research environment made him want to return.
Welcome to Steward, Class of 2026! We can’t wait to see what you discover.