Cornell is now able to welcome Brinson Prize postdoctoral fellows, joining a select group of institutions that host the prestigious astronomy fellowship program.
A collaboration between The Brinson Foundation and the Space Telescope Science Institute (STScI), supports postdoctoral scholars in carrying out novel research in observational cosmology. The program emphasizes projects that complement and capitalize on the latest space science, including topics such as the 铿乺st stars, the cosmic distance scale, and the development of large-scale structure.
The , said , the David C. Duncan Professor in the Physical 麻豆视频 in the 麻豆视频 and 麻豆视频 (A&S) and chair of the department. He said the could be a particularly good fit for early-career astrophysicists and cosmologists who are committed to pursuing bold ideas through innovative research. He encourages prospective applicants to look at the astrophysical and cosmological research going on in the department.
鈥淲e have world-class research programs in cosmology, time-domain astronomy, and other areas of astrophysics, including some in collaboration with faculty in the physics department. Cornell also has a groundbreaking new astronomical facility鈥 the 鈥 that will soon be operational,鈥 he said.
Stella Ocker, Ph.D. 鈥23 won a Brinson Prize fellowship this year, and she said her doctoral studies at Cornell prepared her. She studied pulsars, fast radio bursts and interstellar and circumgalactic plasma.
鈥淎t Cornell, I learned how to identify interesting and critical questions in my field, obtain access to funding and telescope resources, and communicate my research to the rest of the field and the broader public,鈥 Ocker said. 鈥淐ornell astronomy covers a really unique breadth of research programs across planetary science and astrophysics, and I felt that having access to this breadth and learning from both professors and peers across many subfields really taught me how to contextualize my research and identify open problems that are both ambitious and achievable.鈥
Ocker began her Brinson Fellowship Sept. 1 at the California Institute of Technology and Carnegie Observatories in Pasadena, California (the first Brinson fellow to have a joint position.) During her fellowship, Ocker plans to synthesize state-of-the-art optical and radio surveys, including the Sloan Digital Sky Survey V and the Deep Synoptic Array, in order to build a distance ladder for using fast radio bursts as probes of the universe鈥檚 large-scale structure.
鈥淭he Brinson Prize provides postdoctoral fellows with the opportunity to pursue independent, ambitious research programs while building professional networks that will last long into their careers, Ocker said. 鈥淔or me, having this fellowship means that I can build a set of research initiatives that are uniquely tailored to my goals and enjoy unparalleled access to the resources I need to accomplish those goals.鈥
Cornell astronomers Martha Haynes, Distinguished Professor of Arts and 麻豆视频 in Astronomy (A&S), and Anna Y.Q. Ho, assistant professor of astronomy (A&S), were instrumental in establishing Cornell as a Brinson Prize institution, Lunine said.
Other participating institutions are: California Institute of Technology; Johns Hopkins University; Massachusetts Institute of Technology; Northwestern University; Princeton University; Stanford University; University of Arizona; University of California, Berkeley; University of Chicago; University of Washington; and Observatories of the Carnegie Institution for Science.
More News from A&S
Government
Social sciences
