Symposium Schedule + Logistics

Schedule

Tuesday
  • 8:00-9:00am: Coffee + Continental Breakfast
  • 9:00-9:25am: Ava Polzin (Chicago) for the SOC
  • 9:25-9:50am: Shany Danieli (Tel Aviv) - “Dwarf Galaxies Beyond the Local Group”
    Low-mass (dwarf) galaxies are key to probing dark matter and galaxy formation on small scales but remain challenging to detect and study. Research has largely focused on Milky Way satellites, but advances in telescopes and imaging now enable studies beyond the Local Group. I will review obstacles to studying distant dwarfs, highlight discoveries revealing their remarkable diversity, and discuss size-mass outliers, dark matter variations, and globular cluster populations. I will conclude with ongoing and future surveys essential for mapping the broader dwarf galaxy population.
  • 9:50-10:15am: Jenny Greene (Princeton) - “Searching for Satellites of LMC Analogs”
    Low-mass dwarf galaxies with stellar masses less than a billion suns have provided some of the most stringent tests of the nature of dark matter on small scales. Large new samples of such galaxies are efficiently selected as satellites of Milky-Way mass galaxies. However, interesting new tests of the nature of dark matter and galaxy evolution are opened if we can chart the satellites systems of LMC analogs as well. I will present initial results from the first eight hosts in ELVES-Dwarf, which uses the surface brightness fluctuation technique to efficiently find galaxy groups around low-mass hosts.
  • 10:15-10:40am: Daniela Calzetti (UMass Amherst) - “Tracking and Understanding Star Formation in the Local Universe”
    Our ability to trace star formation and the ensuing stellar feedback hinges on our ability to measure star formation rates with accuracy. This usually implies understanding how tracers may be affected by extraneous contributions, e.g., from older stellar populations non involved in the star formation. I will provide a short review of the current status of star formation rate tracers and how they reflect the complex multi-scale ecosystem of galaxies.
  • 10:40-11:00am: Break
  • 11:00-11:25am: Allison Strom (Northwestern) - “Galaxy Chemistry and You”
    The chemistry of gas and stars in galaxies connects many seemingly disparate areas of astrophysics, from planet formation and stellar evolution to the enrichment and physical state of the circumgalactic and intergalactic media. Because heavy elements are the end product of converting gas to stars, the abundance and distribution of different elements in and around galaxies tells the story of how galaxies grow and change over time. Astronomers have been studying the chemistry of galaxies outside the Milky Way for well over 50 years, but only in the last decade have detailed studies of galaxy enrichment in the distant universe been possible. Using premier facilities like the Keck Telescopes and the James Webb Space Telescope, we have made significant advances in characterizing galaxies that were forming at early times---particularly during "Cosmic Noon," the period 8-12 Gyr ago when about half of all the stars in the universe were formed. I will discuss how innovative techniques for determining galaxy chemistry have helped to create a more nuanced picture of these young systems and allowed us to make connections between galaxies, their stellar populations, and their gaseous environments over cosmic time.
  • 11:25-11:50am: Kate Whitaker (UMass Amherst) - “Discovering Ancient Relics in a Distant Evolved Galaxy”
    Globular clusters are some of the oldest bound structures in the Universe and thus hold clues to the earliest epochs of star formation and galaxy assembly. However, accurate age measurements of ancient star clusters are challenging due to the age-metallicity degeneracy. In this talk, I will share the discovery of a large population of globular cluster candidates within the 'Relic', a massive, evolved galaxy existing only 2.5 billion years after the Big Bang. The Relic is a unique laboratory that enables the first connection between long-lived, high-redshift star clusters and local stellar populations, offering insights into the early stages of globular cluster evolution and the broader processes of galaxy assembly. Through personal anecdotes centered around being a woman, a mother, an astronomer, and a mentor, I will also weave into this story a few of my own lessons learned over the course of my career.
  • 11:50-12:15pm: Erica Nelson (CU Boulder) - “2 Fast, 2 Furious: The remarkable power of JWST to revolutionize our understanding of galaxy and black hole formation”
    The launch and commissioning of the James Webb Space Telescope is ushering in a new era in our understanding of our cosmic origins. Galaxies are a fundamental building block of the universe, yet how they formed has remained enigmatic owing to our inability to observe them at early cosmic times. In just the first two and a half years of data, JWST has already upended our understanding of galaxy and black hole growth in the early universe. In this talk I will discuss some of the surprising results that have come out of our work with JWST and their impact on our understanding of the formation and evolution of galaxies. This includes remarkably mature galaxies at early times, galaxies so luminous they allow us to see much further back in time than we thought possible, overmassive black holes, bulges where we thought there were none, and a new method for measuring kinematics that has revealed a monstrous spinning disk 1 billion years after the big bang. Galaxy and black hole growth in the early universe appears to have happened much more rapidly than previously thought, defying predictions from theoretical models. I’ll conclude with a discussion of where the field is moving and the rich discovery space in this new era of extragalactic astrophysics.
  • 12:15-1:15pm: Lunch
  • 1:15-1:40pm: Katie Auchettl (Melbourne) - “The imprint of their explosions: Using supernova remnants to understand stellar death”
    One of the most uncertain aspects related to our understanding of the end points of stellar evolution is the link between the progenitor star and the nature of the supernova explosion that the progenitor will undergo. Even though hundreds of supernovae are discovered each year by optical surveys, these sources are usually too distant to resolve the ejecta and immediate surrounding of the exploded star. However, due to their long lifetimes and close proximity, supernova remnants which are the long lived structures that result from the supernova explosion of either a white dwarf or a massive star, provide us with a unique opportunity to study supernova explosion and dynamics up close and in detail. In this talk, I will highlight some recent advances that have been made in the understanding of supernovae and their progenitors using multi-wavelength studies of supernovae and their remnants.
  • 1:40-2:00pm: Introduction to discussions
  • 2:00-5:15pm: Discussions
  • 5:15-5:30pm: Debrief
  • 5:30pm on: Reception and keynote remarks from KICP Director, Abby Vieregg (Chicago)
Wednesday
  • 8:00-9:00am: Coffee
  • 9:00-9:25am: Laura Trouille (Adler Planetarium) - “Sustaining Careers in Astronomy: Opportunities, Engagement, and Meaning-Making”
    A holistic approach to retention in astronomy requires a more inclusive view of career pathways beyond academia and a commitment to equipping astronomers for success in diverse roles. This talk will explore the work of AAS Committees in supporting career development, as well as opportunities within cultural institutions and other learning environments that leverage astronomical expertise. Additionally, I will highlight the efforts of the International Astronomical Union’s Office of Astronomy for Development (OAD) and the North American Regional Office in using astronomy to advance the UN Sustainable Development Goals, with a particular focus on the Women and Girls in Astronomy Project. Finally, I will discuss how public engagement serves as a powerful retention strategy, emphasizing how platforms like Zooniverse offer fertile ground for broader impacts, meaning-making, and career sustainability while contributing to research.
  • 9:25-9:50am: Renée Hložek (Toronto) - “Could the dark matter be axions and why does it matter?”
    Ultra-light axions are a promising dark matter candidate well motivated by high energy physics. While detection experiments hold great promise for axion detection, small-scale measurements from the cosmic microwave background (CMB) provide a window into the dark sector that is not probed by detector experiments. I will highlight current constraints from experiments like Planck and the Atacama Cosmology Telescope (ACT) and future forecasts on these fascinating dark matter candidates.
  • 9:50-10:15am: Laura Newburgh (Yale) - “Cracking the Challenge of CHIME Calibration with Novel New Techniques”
    Recent cosmological data sets have shown tantalizing hints that our current model of Dark Energy may be too naive. New experiments like CHIME are poised to address this question through 3-dimensional maps of structure using the 21cm emission line from neutral hydrogen contained in abundance in galaxies. However, success hinges on our ability to remove bright foreground emission, which requires improved calibration of the instrument. In this talk, I will highlight recent progress in calibration towards our ultimate goal of improved measurements of Dark Energy, and discuss future directions for the analysis.
  • 10:15-10:40am: Rachel Somerville (Flatiron CCA) - “Working towards a new paradigm for understanding galaxy formation and constraining cosmology”
    A new generation of multi-tracer surveys has the potential to yield huge progress in our understanding of galaxy formation and cosmology, but only if we can overcome certain challenges. These include accurately modeling the intertwined effects of baryonic processes and the nature of dark matter and dark energy, as well as incorporating diverse types of data and observational tracers into a robust statistical framework. I will discuss the Simulating Multiscale Astrophysics to Understand Galaxies (SMAUG) and Learning the Universe projects and how we are working towards building more robust sub-grid models for astrophysical processes in simulations, developing accelerated forward models using machine learning, creating detailed multi-probe synthetic observations, and folding all of these elements into a Simulation Based Inference pipeline.
  • 10:40-11:00am: Break
  • 11:00-11:25am: Lamiya Mowla (Wellesley) - “Exploring the Co-Evolution of Star Clusters and Galaxies Since Cosmic Dawn”
    The most distant galaxies observed date back to when the Universe was only 5% of its current age, with progenitors of galaxies like the Milky Way being about 10,000 times less massive. Using JWST and the magnification provided by gravitational lensing, these low-mass galaxies can be detected and studied in detail. I will present JWST observations of the "Firefly Sparkle," a strongly lensed galaxy at ( z = 8.3 ) featuring massive star clusters cocooned in a diffuse arc, showcasing characteristics of a young, gas-rich galaxy in the early stages of formation. The unresolved clusters display exceptionally high surface densities, surpassing those of Milky Way globular clusters and nearby young star clusters, along with nebular-dominated spectra, low metallicity, high gas density, and elevated electron temperatures, suggesting a top-heavy initial mass function (IMF). These observations provide the first spectrophotometric view of a typical galaxy at Cosmic Dawn, highlighting JWST’s capability to investigate the co-evolution of galaxies and star clusters. I will also discuss plans to expand this work using future JWST cluster observations, aiming to deepen our understanding of the evolution of galaxy evolution.
  • 11:25-11:50am: Jessie Christiansen (Caltech/IPAC) - “Searching for Exoplanets with the Habitable Worlds Observatory”
    One of the most exciting endeavors in astronomy is the search for Earth 2.0 - a potentially habitable rocky planet, in the habitable zone of a Sun-like star. So far such a discovery has eluded us, but the Habitable Worlds Observatory (HWO) has set this ambitious target in its sights. In this talk I will cover the history of the search for Earth 2.0, the motivation for HWO, the path forward to a successful mission, and some of the exciting potential science cases HWO will uncover.
  • 11:50-12:15pm: Malena Rice (Yale) - “Exoplanet Systems in 3D”
    While thousands of exoplanets have been discovered to date, we are just beginning to scrape the surface of how their systems are constructed: how planetary orbits are oriented relative to each other and their host star, as well as how their dynamic histories can be deduced from these clues. I will discuss recent advances in examining exoplanet systems in 3D, focusing on the goal of understanding not only the properties of exoplanets themselves, but also how diverse planetary systems are globally structured. I will also share insights from my personal journey through academia as an exoplanet scientist and a woman.
  • 12:15-1:15pm: Lunch
  • 1:15-1:30pm: Introduction to discussions
  • 1:30-3:30pm: Discussions
  • 3:30-4:30pm: Joint KICP-Picture an Astronomer Colloquium - Kate Whitaker (UMass Amherst) - “Unveiling the Epoch of Quenching”
    When the Universe was merely a few billion years old, about half of massive galaxies had already formed the bulk of their stars and new star formation plummeted. New observations from the James Webb Space Telescope are now pushing the existence of these ‘red and dead’ (quiescent) galaxies to uncomfortably high redshifts. How these massive galaxies form so rapidly and quench at such early times remains a puzzle. Their dark matter halos should contain large gas reservoirs that should cool efficiently, sustaining star formation over long periods. In this talk, I will review the recent innovative techniques developed to probe the physical properties of early quiescent galaxies, and the key observations constraining their formation histories and molecular gas content. I will present promising paths forward towards solving this puzzle that leverage strong gravitational lensing and the capabilities of the James Webb Space Telescope and ALMA.
  • 4:30pm on: Reception
Thursday
  • 8:00-9:00am: Coffee
  • 9:00-9:25am: Sthabile Kolwa (Johannesburg) - “Radio Telescopes - a pathway to astronomy development in Africa”
    The SKA project has ushered in new and exciting opportunities for scientific discovery. Additionally, it has paved the way for tremendous development of astronomy in South Africa. Over the last decade, we have seen plenty of growth in the numbers of faculty, postdocs, and students involved directly in optical observing with SALT and radio astronomy with MeerKAT (an SKA pathfinder) which was commissioned in 2018. As a black South African and Zambian radio astronomer who has been involved with the SKA since undergrad, I have witnessed and been a part of these developments. In this talk, I will give a highlight reel of milestones for astronomy in S.A. I will also describe the impact they have had in growing astronomy as a field of study and scientific inquiry in S.A. and some other countries in the African continent. Amid the excitement of commissioning powerful telescopes, transforming the social and cultural landscape of astronomy is still a challenge. I will discuss how our colonial history, socio-economic barriers, and gender inequity can limit many from pursuing scientific careers in astronomy in Africa.
  • 9:25-9:50am: Kim-Vy Tran (Harvard-Smithsonian CfA) - “Illumininating the Dark Universe with Strong Gravitational Lensing”
    We are now at the start of the revolution where deep high resolution imaging that surveys increasingly vast cosmological volumes is available. With sophisticated computer algorithms to sift through the massive legacy data-sets, the AGEL survey searches for the distinct visual signature of strong gravitational lensing to identify thousands of halos spanning a wide range in mass. The AGEL lenses include deflectors at z>0.5 that are ideal for follow-up studies to track how mass density profiles evolve with redshift and identifying very rare compound lenses for measuring cosmological parameters. The AGEL survey also is a resource for refining automated all-sky searches and a pathfinder for deep all-sky surveys such as EUCLID, LSST, and Roman to use strong lenses to address a range of questions in astrophysics and cosmology. I will also discuss representation in lead-author publications within the ASTRO 3D Centre of Excellence. Of 443 refereed publications, women were first-author on 38% which is nearly double that of the astronomy field (~20%). We show that the combination of female leadership and higher fraction of female members correlates with a higher fraction of female-led publications. Our findings show that representation in refereed publications can be achieved within ~5 years by combining evidence-based recruitment strategies with representation in supervisors and collaborations.
  • 9:50-10:15am: Katie Breivik (Carnegie Mellon) - “Binary stars: a decades-old problem with an open-science solution”
    Binary stars play a role in nearly all areas of astrophysics, yet, comprehensive models which accurately describe all aspects of binary evolution, from birth through to the formation of stellar remnants, remain elusive. This is due, at least in part, to a relative dearth of data sets that provide measurements of binary properties and cover swaths of stellar population parameters like mass and temperature. The development of several astronomical surveys which span both the electromagnetic and gravitational wave spectra, and provide measurements of binary-star parameters, offer a unique opportunity to confront models for binary evolution with data. In this talk I will review how uncertain binary interactions shape stellar populations and discuss recent work which aims to constrain these interactions by comparing the results of binary population synthesis simulations to publically released data.
  • 10:15-10:40am: Sanjana Curtis (Oregon State) - “Explosive nucleosynthesis from core-collapse supernovae and the role of binary evolution”
    Core-collapse supernovae are among the most important sites of element production in the universe. Predicting their nucleosynthesis yields is thus important for understanding the compositions of metal-poor stars and for tracing the chemical evolution of galaxies. However, self-consistently simulating the explosion of a massive star and computing resulting abundances is a formidable challenge, one that requires careful computational modeling. Additionally, while almost all traditional core-collapse nucleosynthesis studies are based on single star progenitors, most massive stars are thought to exist in binaries. In this talk, I will present nucleosynthesis yields for a large suite of single-star supernova models spanning a range of masses and metallicities, exploded in spherical symmetry using the PUSH method. I will also present preliminary results from explosion simulations employing a set of stellar evolution models that includes both single and binary progenitors, and discuss how binarity impacts the landscape of core-collapse supernova outcomes and yields.
  • 10:40-11:00am: Break
  • 11:00-11:25am: Kelly Holley-Bockelmann (Vanderbilt)
  • 11:25-11:50am: Maya Fishbach (Toronto) - “Gravitational waves from the stellar graveyard”
    The LIGO-Virgo-KAGRA Collaboration has observed ~100 gravitational-wave sources to date, including mergers between black holes, neutron stars, and mixed neutron star-black holes. These neutron stars and black holes connect many astrophysical puzzles, including the lives and deaths of stars, star cluster dynamics, cosmic chemical enrichment, and the expansion history of the Universe. I will describe some recent astrophysical lessons from gravitational-wave discoveries.
  • 11:50-1:15pm: Lunch
  • 1:15-1:30pm: Introduction to discussions
  • 1:30-5:00pm: Discussions
  • 5:00-5:30pm: Debrief and closing remarks

Social Media

If you post about the symposium on social media, please consider using #PictureAnAstronomer.

Travel and Accommodation

If you are booking travel and accommodation to Chicago, please refer to our Logistics for In-person Attendance.

Suggested Resources

So that everyone is on the same page in discussions, here are some suggested materials, which are not specifically endorsed, but rather represent a portion of the extensive resources available. These documentaries/books/popular articles/refereed publications are not intended to be comprehensive, but instead offer a starting point to have data-driven, solution-oriented conversations. There are (social) scientists dedicated to understanding the science gender gap, so the larger literature is a key starting point for informed discussion. (If you would like to see something particular added, please let us know.)

For undergraduates/early graduate students, we also recommend Astronomy as a Field: A Guide for Aspiring Astrophysicists, which was authored by, and contains advice from, a number of Picture an Astronomer speakers and attendees.