Northwestern University’s Center for Interdisciplinary Exploration and Research in Astrophysics (CIERA) once again welcomed a cohort of promising undergraduate researchers to its prestigious National Science Foundation-funded Research Experience for Undergraduates (REU) program this summer. Now in its eleventh year, the program, titled “Preparing the Workforce of the Future through Interdisciplinary Astrophysics Research,” has continued to offer a transformative and immersive experience in cutting-edge, cross-disciplinary science.
Led by Cliff Johnson, Program Director and Assistant Research Professor at CIERA, Megan Newsome, Co-Director and Visiting Researcher and Vicky Kalogera, Director of CIERA and Co-PI, the 2025 REU program brought together 13 students (out of 588 applications) from across the country to tackle some of the most complex and exciting questions in modern astrophysics.
Over the course of nine intensive weeks, the students worked closely with faculty mentors from departments spanning Astronomy, Physics, Engineering, and Earth and Planetary Sciences.
“It’s about giving undergraduates considering a PhD a real taste of what day-to-day research is actually like,” says Johnson. “It’s important they understand that PhD work isn’t all exciting discoveries—it’s often basic, hard work like writing analysis code or debugging scripts. They’ll be tackling genuinely new problems, and much of it they’ll have to figure out on their own.”
A Summer of Research, Discovery, and Development
Participants in the program pursued a wide range of research projects that reflect the interdisciplinary spirit of 21st-century astrophysics. These included studies in astrophysical fluid dynamics, gravitational waves, dark matter and dark energy, exoplanetary systems, and planetary tectonics. Many projects integrated high-performance computing, data mining, and advanced instrumentation techniques.
Students had access to state-of-the-art resources, including Northwestern’s Quest High Performance Computing facility and several on-campus instrumentation and photonics labs, as well as NSF and NASA supercomputing resources.
“This summer, my research was focused on modeling stellar collisions in galactic centers by using machine learning. I learned a lot about how machine learning works and how star clusters in the galactic center evolve as a result of star collisions,” says Tristan Parmerlee, a junior at Loyola University Chicago.
Beyond research, students engaged in a robust suite of professional development activities—from Python programming tutorials and high-performance computing workshops to science communication training and scientific writing sessions. The Research Communication Training Program (RCTP) guided students through the process of articulating complex scientific ideas to both expert and general audiences.
“The communications and writing workshops helped immensely,” said Shirsha Mukerjee, a sophomore at the University of Oklahoma. “There were so many amazing tips, rules, and practices that were given during our RCTP trainings that I would never have remembered or thought to include in my presentations, such as starting with familiar information to build up to new information, making the presentation about the audience and how to engage with the audience; being aware of tone and how we naturally drop our volume at the end of sentences, body language, and so much more.”
At the end of the summer, students presented their work in a formal poster session at Northwestern, with audiences ranging from fellow researchers to faculty, postdocs and graduate students and oral presentations on Zoom for friends and family and fellow cohort members. In addition, each participant will receive support to attend and present at the 2026 American Astronomical Society (AAS) Winter Meeting. A full list of student projects can be found here.
Building Community and Charting Career Paths
Community-building and networking were cornerstones of the experience. The program organized social events like BBQs, beach outings, and field trips to Fermilab, Yerkes Observatory, and Chicago’s Adler Planetarium—connecting students with the broader scientific and public community in the Chicago area.
CIERA also hosted candid and practical panel discussions on graduate school preparation and diverse career pathways beyond academia. Panelists included professionals working in data science, government policy, industry research, and more—each of them with advanced degrees in astronomy or physics.
“Never in a thousand-million years would have guessed that I’d become so close with a group of 12 students over the span of 10 weeks. I love how we all lived right next to each other, we did so many activities together, and the REU pre-planned many for us too. I loved my lab group as well. Everyone at CIERA has been a blessing in my life and I truly believe that this was a life-changing experience for me,” Mukherjee said.
Looking Ahead
The 2025 REU cohort joins a growing alumni network of 129 young researchers who go on to pursue graduate studies, publish scientific papers, and contribute to fields both inside and outside of academia. Many students will continue collaborating with their mentors beyond the summer, with the potential for co-authored publications and future conference presentations.
“We put a lot of thought into supporting our students—not just with mentorship on their research projects, but with structured programming to build essential skills,” says Johnson. “Early in the program, we run computing seminars to strengthen their Python, command line, Git, and high-performance computing skills. By learning these as a cohort, they’re better prepared and more connected. And beyond the lab, we take field trips to places like the Adler Planetarium, Fermilab, and Yerkes Observatory, which helps the group bond. It’s not just about research—it’s about building community and confidence.”
As astrophysics becomes ever more interdisciplinary, programs like CIERA’s REU are playing a vital role in preparing students to contribute to the field and shape its future.
Elaine Bai
Illinois Institute of Technology (Junior; Astrophysics and Physics)
Advisor: Miller
Project: Measuring the Redshift Completeness Fraction of Nearby Galaxies
Maddy Evenson
University of Kansas (Junior; Astronomy, Physics)
Advisor: Strom
Project: Investigating Connections Between Emission Line Spectra and Morphological Properties of Galaxies
Aidan Groenendaal
Pennsylvania State University (Junior; Astronomy and Astrophysics)
Advisor: Shahriar
Project: Optimizing the Intensity of a Raman Laser with Enhanced Cavity Sensitivity
Srishti Gupta
University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign (Junior; Physics)
Advisor: vanderLee
Project: Inferring Strain of the Lithosphere of Mars with Recordings of Marsquakes
Isabel Lockhart
DePaul University (Sophomore; Astrophysics)
Advisor: Wang
Project: Vetting a Reference Star for the Roman Space Telescope
Olivia Lucal
University of Chicago (Sophomore; Astrophysics)
Advisor: Lithwick
Project: Testing Laplace-Lagrange Theory with N-Body Simulations of Eccentric Protoplanetary Disks
Jorie McDermott
Ohio State University (Junior; Astrophysics, Physics)
Advisor: Kalogera
Project: Modeling Radio Pulsar Selection Effects
Shirsha Mukherjee
University of Oklahoma (Sophomore; Physics, Math)
Advisor: Kalogera
Project: A Split Verdict on q: Component-Dependent Mass-Ratio Preferences
Sora Norris
Swarthmore College (Junior; Astrophysics)
Advisor: Tchekhovskoy
Project: Investigating Maximal Magnetic Flux of Super Massive Black Hole Accretion Disks in the MAD Regime
Tristan Parmerlee
Loyola University Chicago (Junior; Physics with Computer Science, Mathematics)
Advisor: Rasio
Project: Demolition Dash! Using Machine Learning to Model Stellar Collisions in the Galactic Center
Aidan Rodts
DePaul University (Sophomore; Astrophysics)
Advisor: Novak
Project: Commissioning the TolTEC Polarimeter via Observations of the Quasar 3C 286
Sam Tello
Carnegie Mellon University (Junior; Physics)
Advisor: deGouvea
Project: Chi-squared Analysis of Solar Neutrino Parameters at DUNE
Aster Winkler
Brown University (Junior; Physics – Astrophysics Track)
Advisor: Starkenberg
Project: Synthetic Observations of Globular Cluster Stellar Streams with the Roman Space Telescope
We extend our deepest thanks to Aaron Geller, former Principal Investigator and Research Associate Professor on the REU grant, for his invaluable contributions to the program. As he transitions from CIERA to Northwestern IT’s Research Computing and Data Services, we wish him all the best in this next chapter.
Main image: 2025 REU Cohort on a field trip to Fermilab