Current Jansky Fellows
2023
Hendrik Mueller (NRAO/Socorro) graduated with a PhD in astrophysics at the Max Planck Institute for Radio Astronomy in Bonn, Germany, in 2023. Hendrik's research interests include development of novel VLBI imaging algorithms along the lines of multiscalar imaging in the spirit of compressive sensing and multiobjective evolutionary optimization, which are an improvement in resolution, accuracy and supervision over the CLEAN algorithm, and their applications to frontline VLBI projects in preparation for the next generation of high-resolution and high-sensitivity radio interferometers such as the next generation Very Large Array (ngVLA) and next generation Event Horizon Telescope (ngEHT). As a Jansky Fellow at NRAO in Socorro, New Mexico, Hendrik is focusing on the development of imaging and calibration tools for the ngVLA using artificial intelligence applications.
Cosima Eibensteiner (NRAO/Charlottesville) graduated from the University of Bonn in Germany in 2023 a Ph.D in Astronomy. Cosima’s research interests include the structure, evolution, chemistry and kinematics of the interstellar medium (ISM), from large scale disk properties to central molecular zones in nearby galaxies. Her thesis, which utilized data from NSF’s Karl G. Jansky Very Large Array (VLA), the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA), NSF’s Green Bank Telescope (GBT), MeerKAT and IRAM, focused on disentangling the physical and chemical processes that shape and govern the ISM. As a member of the PHANGS collaboration, Cosima is studying stellar nurseries in nearby disk galaxies. As a Jansky Fellow at NRAO in Charlottesville, Virginia, Cosima is expanding her research into the effects of the ISM on star formation processes.
David Monasterio (NRAO/Central Development Lab) received his PhD in Electrical Engineering from the Universidad de Chile in 2023, where the focus of his dissertation research was new heterodyne receiver architectures for the next generation of astronomical receivers, like those that will be utilized on the next generation Very Large Array (ngVLA) and other radio telescopes. David’s primary research interests are in both heterodyne receivers and RF components design. As a Jansky Fellow David continues his research in new heterodyne receiver architectures, focusing in particular on multiband heterodyne receivers with the possibility to cover the entire RF spectrum instantaneously.
Samantha Scibelli (NRAO/Charlottesville) received her Ph.D in Astronomy and Astrophysics at the University of Arizona in Tucson, USA, in 2023. Samantha’s research interests include submillimeter studies of the complex chemistry and physical properties of starless and prestellar cores to investigate the initial conditions of low-mass star and planet formation. During observations for her dissertation, she detected a prevalence of complex organic molecules (COMs) in young starless and prestellar cores in the Taurus Molecular Cloud (TMC), causing her to ask, “How are COMs forming so early?” As a Jansky Fellow Samantha continues to investigate the COM formation pathways using the Green Bank Observatory (GBO) legacy GLUCOSE program in combination with detailed chemical modeling of prestellar cores.
2022
Rebecca Charbonneau (NRAO/Charlottesville) earned her Ph.D in History and Philosophy of Science from the University of Cambridge in 2021. Her dissertation focused on the history of radio astronomy and examined the challenges and benefits of international scientific collaboration during the Cold War period. She subsequently worked as the historian-in-residence at the Center for Astrophysics | Harvard & Smithsonian (CfA), during which time she led a project on preserving indigenous astronomical heritage. As a Jansky Fellow, her research program will make use of NRAO’s historical archives and will focus on the history of international cooperation within radio astronomy.
Tao-Chung Ching (NRAO/Socorro) performed his Ph.D study at the National Tsing-Hua University, Taiwan, and CfA under the supervision of Shih-Ping Lai and Qizhou Zhang. He later became a FAST (Five-hundred-meter Aperture Spherical radio Telescope) fellow at the National Astronomical Observatory of China working with Di Li. His research interests are interstellar magnetic fields and star formation studied through observational astronomy from submillimeter to radio wavelengths. Using FAST, Tao-Chung has obtained the first Zeeman-effect detection of the HI Narrow Self-Absorption (HINSA) future. As a Jansky Fellow at NRAO in Socorro, he will use the VLA to explore HINSA as a systematic Zeeman probe, measuring magnetic field strengths of star-forming regions at high angular resolutions.
Dillon Dong (NRAO/Socorro) completed his Ph.D in 2022 at Caltech with Gregg Hallinan. Dillon is broadly interested in astronomical objects that evolve over human timescales, and how they interact with their local and large-scale surroundings. He uses a combination of multi-wavelength observations and order-of-magnitude theory to characterize variable and transient sources that he identified in the VLA Sky Survey (VLASS). His current projects involve using supernovae as probes of pre-explosion eruptive mass loss, statistical characterization of black hole and stellar flares, and identifying radio transients with unusual spectral properties. As a Jansky Fellow at NRAO in Socorro, he will continue his study of VLASS transients and variables, with a focus on luminous, extragalactic radio transients. He also will continue his development of flexible tools to automate the detection of transients and variables in future VLA observations.
Michael Rugel (CfA & NRAO/Socorro) investigates the multiphase interstellar medium (ISM) with surveys of the Milky Way at radio wavelengths. His research focuses on the formation of molecular clouds, as well on feedback on them with studies of tracers of atomic, molecular and ionized gas. As a Jansky Fellow at the Center for Astrophysics | Harvard & Smithsonian and at NRAO Socorro, Rugel will expand his research on star formation, and structure and evolution of the ISM with the THOR-GC survey, an extension of The HI, OH, Recombination Line survey of the Milky Way (THOR) to the Galactic center, and the Bar and Spiral Structure Legacy survey (BeSSeL) extension to the southern Milky Way.
2021
Julia Blue Bird (NRAO/Socorro) completed her PhD in 2021 at Columbia University working with Jacqueline van Gorkom. Julia’s PhD thesis research is focused on galaxy evolution with respect to large-scale structure across cosmic time. A main focus of Julia’s thesis research involves interpretation of the COSMOS HI Large Extragalactic Survey (CHILES) measurements. Julia intends to continue her research with the CHILES measurements through a number of studies, including a characterization of the gas/star mass fraction as a function of redshift. Julia also has a strong commitment to education and public outreach. As a member of the Oglála Sioux Tribe of South Dakota, Julia intends to reach out to the Native American communities in New Mexico during her Jansky Fellowship with a goal to advance STEM education and understanding within those communities.
