News
Astronomy Class of 2026 GSAS Graduates
The Astronomy Department congratulates our 2026 Class of doctoral graduates Vedant Chandra, Shelley Cheng, Hyerin Cho, Victoria DiTomasso, Jiwon (Jesse) Han, Osase Omoruyi, Sophia Sanchez-Maes, and Alexia Simon.
Congratulations to the graduating Astronomy astrophysics concentrators!
Congratulations to the graduating Astronomy astrophysics concentrators! Our seniors this year are: Bruna Biz, Hannah Burrows, Callie Garcia, Sol Gutierrez-Lara, Amaan Khwaja, Thomas Leeds, Sophie Magaro, Ashini Modi, Mekhi Moore, Jasmine Palma Gomez...
Vedant Chandra (GSAS, ’26) wins the 2025 Fireman Fellowship
The Astronomy Department is pleased to award the 2025 Fireman Fellowship to Vedant Chandra (GSAS, ’26), who was honored for the thesis "Mapping the Uncharted Horizons of the Milky Way." Advisor: Charlie Conroy The gift of Rita S. Fireman to the Harvard...
Hyerin Cho wins the 2026 ITC Keto Prize
The Astronomy Department congratulates Hyerin Cho for winning the 2026 Keto Prize from the ITC for the thesis " Black Hole Accretion and Feedback: From the Event Horizon to Galactic Scales" (Advisor: Ramesh Narayan). The Eric R. Keto Prize for Graduate...
Goldberg Prizes awarded to Astronomy concentrators Larom Segev and Carl (Cal) Guia at end of year Awards Ceremony
The 2026 Goldberg Prizes awarded to Astronomy concentrators Larom Segev and Carl (Cal) Guia at end of year Awards Ceremony on May 26, 2026. Larom Segev won the senior Goldberg Prize for developing an automatic scheduler for the Rubin Telescope as it...
Astronomy grads Adam Distler and Matthew Werneken win 2026 Hertz Fellowships
Astronomy grad students Adam Distler and Matthew Werneken were announced as winners of 2026 Hertz Fellowships, providing financial and lifelong professional support for the nation’s most promising doctoral students in the applied sciences, engineering and...
Three senior Astrophysics concentrators win 2026 Hoopes Awards
Congratulations to three Astrophysics concentrators on winning 2026 Thomas Temple Hoopes Prize for excellence in undergraduate work: Larom Segev for her submission entitled “Cloudy with a Chance of Data: A Dynamic Scheduler for AllSky Surveys with Real...
Beyond the Telescope: How Stars Shape Galaxies talk by Scott Lucchini and Alyssa Goodman
Beyond the Telescope: How Stars Shape Galaxies When: May 4, 7pm Where: Boston Museum of Science More Information and Registration Join astrophysicists Scott Lucchini and Alyssa Goodman on an expedition through the lives of stars and how they shape their...
Harvard astronomy seniors kick off careers with thesis presentations at the CfA
Cambridge, MA (April 27, 2026) — Six Harvard undergraduate astronomers presented their senior theses at the Center for Astrophysics | Harvard & Smithsonian this week, concluding a year of intensive training and hands-on research under CfA scientists. The...
Allyson Bieryla Named 2026 Shapley Visiting Lecturer
The American Astronomical Society has named Allyson Bieryla--Manager of the Astronomy Lab and Clay Telescope, as well as Assistant DUS in Astronomy--a 2026 Shapley Visiting Lecturer. In her role, Alyson will give a series of astronomy-themed lectures to...
"Astronomy and dinosaurs are the gateway drugs for science for young people." An interview with Chris Stubbs
The Harvard Crimson interviewed Physics and Astronomy professor Chris Stubbs. Read the interview here.
Vedant Chandra and Collin Cherubim win 2026 NASA Hubble postdoc fellowships
Congratulations to Astronomy grad student Vedant Chandra and EPS grad student Collin Cherubim for winning 2026 NASA Hubble postdoc fellowships! Vedant matriculated at Harvard in 2021; his advisor is Charlie Conroy. He will be defending his thesis at...
Astronomy grad Maryam Hussaini finalist for Harvard Three-Minute Thesis
Congratulations to Astronomy grad Maryam Hussaini for making the finals of the Harvard Three Minute Thesis (3MT®) --a competition for master's and doctoral students to develop and showcase their research communication skills in a language appropriate to a...
Astronomy Professor Karin Öberg Named Senior Vice Provost for Faculty
Astronomy professor Karin Öberg will serve as Harvard’s next senior vice provost for faculty, coordinating faculty recruitment and appointment reviews, the University announced Friday. Öberg’s appointment, set to begin in July, comes roughly a week after...
Harvard Astronomy grad Sophia Ridolfo awarded Chambliss Astronomy Achievement Award Honorable Mention
Harvard Astronomy grad Sophia Ridolfo was awarded a Chambliss Astronomy Achievement Award Honorable Mention for her AAS247 poster research presentation ( https://aas.org/posts/news/2026/01/congratulations-aas-247-chambliss-st… ). Sophia...
Jennifer Bergner delivers Bok Prize Lecture
Jennifer Bergner , Assistant Professor in Chemistry at UC Berkeley, delivered the Bok Prize Lecture on "The icy origins of planetary systems ," on January 27, 2026. Kenzie Bok, the great-granddaughter of Bart J. Bok, represented the Bok family and...
Ashley Villar wins RCSA Awards!
Congratulations to Astronomy Assistant Professor Ashley Villar for winning two RSCA Awards: Bridge Award: Support for “Luminous Supernovae in the Rubin Era” research. The Bridge Award is for universities disrupted by federal policy changes. Scialog Award...
Lars Hernquist receives the AAS 2026 Henry Norris Russell Lectureship
Lars Hernquist, Mallinckrodt Professor of Astrophysics at Harvard, received the 2026 Henry Norris Russell Lectureship at the AAS 247 conference in January 2026. The honor celebrates a career of eminence in astronomical research, for a lifetime of...
Andrew Vanderburg Receives AAS 2025 Newton Lacy Pierce Prize in Astronomy
Andrew Vanderburg, Assistant Professor of Astronomy at Harvard University, was awarded the AAS 2025 Newton Lacy Pierce Prize in Astronomy during the AAS 247 conference in January 2026. His research focuses on studying exoplanets, or planets which orbit...
On Behalf of DESI, Daniel Eisenstein Receives 2026 Lancelot M. Berkeley–New York Community Trust Prize for Meritorious Work in Astronomy
On Behalf of DESI, Harvard Astronomy Professor Daniel Eisenstein Receives 2026 Lancelot M. Berkeley–New York Community Trust Prize for Meritorious Work in Astronomy The Dark Energy Spectroscopic Instrument (DESI) collaboration is an international...
