News and Events

Avi Loeb

Prof. Avi Loeb, Chair of the Astronomy Department, nominated to serve on White House Science and Technology Advisory Committee.

April 22, 2020

The President's Council of Advisors on Science and Technology (PCAST) is an advisory group of the Nation's leading scientists and engineers, appointed by the President to augment the science and technology advice available to him from inside the White House and from cabinet departments and other Federal agencies.   Prof. Loeb's nomination is subject to approval by Congress.  Also nominated was Dr. Daniela Rus, Andrew and Erna Viterbi Professor of Engineering and Computer Science at MIT and director of MIT’s Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence...

Read more about Prof. Avi Loeb, Chair of the Astronomy Department, nominated to serve on White House Science and Technology Advisory Committee.
Catherine Zucker

Catherine Zucker chosen as 2020 Fireman Fellow by the Astronomy Faculty. Department's highest honor.

April 20, 2020

Her research focuses on understanding the structure of our Milky Way Galaxy. Catherine will be defending her dissertation on May 5th.  Catherine and one of her advisors, Alyssa Goodman, appeared live on the National Public Radio's series Science Friday. Link to the program: ...

Read more about Catherine Zucker chosen as 2020 Fireman Fellow by the Astronomy Faculty. Department's highest honor.
Zoe Todd

Zoe Todd successfully defends thesis "From Astronomy to Chemistry: Origins of the Building Blocks of Life."

April 15, 2020

Abstract: The circumstances surrounding the origins of life on Earth are still unknown, though substantial progress has been made recently. In general, the origins of life might have followed the path where first, simple feedstock molecules available in the planetary environment react to form the molecular building blocks of life, which then come together to make chemical polymers and eventually self-replicating systems that could constitute life. This thesis addresses the first part of this postulated process, attempting to answer the questions: 1) what planetary sources exist for...

Read more about Zoe Todd successfully defends thesis "From Astronomy to Chemistry: Origins of the Building Blocks of Life."
Shep Doeleman: Imaging Black Holes with The Event Horizon Telescope

Shep Doeleman: Imaging Black Holes with The Event Horizon Telescope

July 15, 2019

Recent technical advances and observations have now demonstrated that the goal of making an image of a black hole is within reach. Using the technique of Very Long Baseline Interferometry (VLBI), in which widely separated radio dishes are linked together to form an Earth-sized array, our group has succeeded in confirming event horizon scale structures in two super massive black holes: Sagittarius A*, the 4 million solar mass black hole at the center of the Milky Way (Nature, 455, 78, '08), and M87, a 6 billion solar mass black hole in the giant elliptical galaxy Virgo A (Science, 338,...

Read more about Shep Doeleman: Imaging Black Holes with The Event Horizon Telescope
Rita Fireman with Jennifer Bergman

Jennifer Bergner is awarded the Edward J. Fireman Fellowship for best graduate dissertation in her work as an astrochemist observer and experimentalist.

May 29, 2019

Picture to the right is Jennifer with Rita Fireman, wife of Edward Fireman during the Honors Ceremony on May 29, 2019.  Pictured below are  members of the Fireman family who annually attend the awarding of this fellowship, along with Irwin Shapiro (left) who was the Director of the Center for Astrophysics when the Fellowship was first instituted.  Jennifer was advised by Karin Öberg.

 

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Read more about Jennifer Bergner is awarded the Edward J. Fireman Fellowship for best graduate dissertation in her work as an astrochemist observer and experimentalist.
Arts First

Four of our concentrators participating in ARTS FIRST Creativity Festival on campus on May 4. See schedule inside.

April 30, 2019

On Saturday, May 4th, these four Astronomy concentrators will perform on campus during the ARTS FIRST festival.  See https://issuu.com/harvard_artsfirst/docs/arts_first_2019_guide_issuu for the full guide.

  • Gennie Weiler ’21, Harvard Callbacks (5/4 Yard Stage 1:40-2pm)
  • Grant Meiners ’22, Harvard Krokodiloes (5/4 Yard Stage 2:40-3pm)
  • ...
Read more about Four of our concentrators participating in ARTS FIRST Creativity Festival on campus on May 4. See schedule inside.