CIERA is pleased to announce that PhD students Gideon McFarland and Nathalie Jones have been selected as the recipients of the 2025–2026 Board of Visitors (BoV) Graduate Research Fellowships. These prestigious fellowships support outstanding graduate students conducting research at the intersection of astrophysics and other disciplines, such as data science, computational methods, engineering, chemistry, and biology.
In addition to advancing their research, BoV Fellows engage in impactful outreach by leveraging their scientific expertise to support K–12 STEM educators and students across the Chicagoland area. The fellowship provides one year of dedicated funding to graduate students in their third year or beyond, empowering them to pursue innovative, interdisciplinary research and broaden the reach of astrophysical science.
Gideon McFarland
Gideon McFarland is a third-year PhD student in the Department of Physics & Astronomy working with Dr. Tjitske Starkenburg. His research focuses on the large-scale structure of the universe, studying cosmic voids and galaxy clusters. Gideon is a Co-Lead of the void cosmology group within the Dark Energy Science Collaboration (DESC), where his work will inform a cosmological analysis with Rubin Observatory’s first data release. Gideon also works on large hydrodynamical cosmological simulations at Argonne National Laboratory, characterizing the massive galaxies at the center of galaxy clusters. Outside of his academic work, Gideon has been an Annenberg Fellow at Eton College, where he crafted an introduction to astronomy course, taught a cosmology masterclass, and organized outreach for high schoolers. Gideon has also been a recurring volunteer for CIERA and Adler programs and events including Astronomy Night Out, REACH, and Astronomy Conversations.
“I am very excited to be chosen as a CIERA Board of Visitors Graduate Fellow!” says McFarland. “Education and outreach has always been an important part of my work in graduate school, and I’m looking forward to dedicating a significant portion of this upcoming year to supporting and growing CIERA’s many EPO events.”
Nathalie Jones
Nathalie Jones is a 4th-year PhD student in the Department of Physics & Astronomy working with Professor Jason Wang on exoplanet imaging data. She is leading the final analysis of exoplanet candidates detected by the 5-year Gemini Planet Imager Exoplanet Survey and will play a leading role in developing the data analysis pipeline for the upgraded Gemini Planet Imager 2.0. Nathalie has participated in several CIERA outreach events and has been the REACH Programs Coordinator for the past two summers. She partakes in multiple service positions at NU including serving as the President of the Indigenous Graduate Student Collective and a committee member in the PAGSC. Nathalie is also passionate about encouraging visiting astronomers to be good stewards to the community when visiting the Hawaiian telescopes.
“I’ve enjoyed working with the REACH students in the previous two summers and I’m excited to continue outreach work impacting local schools and communities through this fellowship,” Jones says. “Sharing knowledge and opportunities with others is the most important part of my job as a scientist! Thank you CIERA Board of Visitors.”
Congratulations Gideon and Nathalie!