Galaxy Formation, Intergalactic Medium, Active Galactic Nuclei, Galaxy-Black Hole Coevolution, Galaxy Clusters, Early Universe
Image Credit: X-ray: NASA/CXC/MSSL/R.Soria et al, Optical: AURA/Gemini OBs
The most obvious large structures in the Universe are the galaxies, which over the span of cosmic time have been the nexus for both the evolution of stars and large-scale structure in the Universe. CIERA researchers are engaged in understanding both the evolution of the galaxies and the environments they are embedded in, as well as the stellar populations they are comprised of and the supermassive black holes they host.
Research at CIERA
CIERA researchers work on understanding the origins of structure in the Universe. Professor Faucher-Giguère’s group develops sophisticated cosmological hydrodynamic simulations of galaxy formation. The simulations are used to answer a wide variety of science questions, including how star formation is regulated in galaxies, how galaxies interact with the circum-galactic medium and the intergalactic medium, and how galaxies and their black holes co-evolve.
Opportunities
Deadline: 11:59pm, December 16, 2021
We invite applications for a postdoctoral scholar to join Northwestern’s Center for Interdisciplinary Exploration and Research in Astrophysics (CIERA) and the leadership of the LSSTC Data Science Fellowship Program (DSFP). The DSFP Postdoctoral Fellow will divide their time equally between conducting an independent research program in data science in astronomy/astrophysics, while continuing the development and growth of the DSFP.
Deadline: 11:59pm, December 31, 2021
The appointment will start in Fall 2022 (exact starting date negotiable). The first two years will be at the Department of Astronomy at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign (with Prof. Yue Shen), with the third year at the CIERA at Northwestern University (with Prof. Claude-Andre Faucher-Giguere). Please see https://jobregister.aas.org/ad/60414ae1 for more information. The postdoctoral
Deadline: 11:59pm, December 31, 2021
The Northwestern Astronomy PhD is designed to provide students with a broad training in astronomy while enabling them to get started quickly with their graduate research. The Astronomy PhD is a flexible program that allows students to complement their astronomy training with a selection of physics courses or courses from other quantitative disciplines such as
Deadline: 11:59pm, December 31, 2021
The Department of Physics and Astronomy offers two different PhD degrees designed to best train students in their chosen discipline. For most branches of physics, students should enroll in the Physics PhD. Students interested in astronomy or astrophysics may apply for the Astronomy PhD. GREs (general and physics) are not accepted. Visit the Physics and Astronomy Department website for
Deadline: 11:59pm, January 15, 2022
The Department of Physics and Astronomy at Northwestern University invites applications for a new full time faculty position in astrophysics, as part of an ongoing expansion in this area. We seek outstanding individuals in any area of astrophysics, including theory and computation, observational astronomy, and instrumentation. We are especially seeking researchers who will complement and expand
Deadline: 11:59pm, January 16, 2022
The Center for Interdisciplinary Exploration and Research in Astrophysics (CIERA) at Northwestern University and the Science Engagement Division at the Adler Planetarium (Adler) are seeking candidates for a postdoctoral fellowship position, jointly-appointed between our two institutions.
News
Gallery
STARFORGE Simulation: the “Anvil of Creation”
STARFORGE Simulation: the “Anvil of Creation”
Snapshot from the first full STARFORGE simulation. Nicknamed the “Anvil of Creation,” a giant molecular cloud with individual star formation and comprehensive feedback, including protostellar jets, radiation, stellar winds and core-collapse supernovae. Learn more.
Northwestern University/UT Austin
Models and Simulations Run on the Cluster and in the Family
Models and Simulations Run on the Cluster and in the Family
From Purdue University’s Long Tales of Science podcast, hear CIERA’s Dr. Sarah Wellons, an astrophysicist who uses high performance computing resources to run massive simulations of galaxy formation, and her mother, Dr. Helen Wellons, a retired chemical engineer who used parallel computing to deploy computational modeling applications to optimize real-time refinery operations at ExxonMobil.
- Science
Shane Larson’s Virtual Public Lecture, “A Storm of Stars: A Living History of the Milky Way”
Shane Larson’s Virtual Public Lecture, “A Storm of Stars: A Living History of the Milky Way”
On October 28, 2020 CIERA’s Shane Larson presented this public lecture titled A Storm of Stars: A Living History of the Milky Way in a virtual Zoom webinar format to an audience of nearly 450 viewers. Larson discussed how we came to understand the Milky Way, our home galaxy, and how our ideas about the
- Event
Marla Geha; Astrophysics Seminar Recording
Marla Geha; Astrophysics Seminar Recording
Dr. Marla Geha presents “The Saga Survey: Exploring Satellite Galaxies Around the Milky Way Analogs.” Dr. Geha is a professor of astronomy and the Director of Telescope Resources at Yale University. This seminar is part of the Astrophysics Seminar series at CIERA.
CIERA
- Event,
- Science
Shane Larson at TEDxGVSU, “Feeling Small in a Big Cosmos”
Shane Larson at TEDxGVSU, “Feeling Small in a Big Cosmos”
The Universe is vast beyond anything humans can easily comprehend, and it is easy to become overwhelmed by the immensity, disheartened by how insignificant we seem. But in the vastness there is a glimmer of truth that we should hold onto and use to guide us: in all the vastness we are, so far as
TEDxGVSU
- Education,
- Event
CIERA’s 11th Annual Public Lecture, “Cartography of the Cosmos: Mapping the Unseen”
CIERA’s 11th Annual Public Lecture, “Cartography of the Cosmos: Mapping the Unseen”
This lecture was presented by award-winning author and Yale professor Dr. Priyamvada Natarajan at Cahn Auditorium on October 24, 2019. Natarajan discussed how mapping over time encodes radical new scientific ideas. She walked through the history of the acceptance of new astronomical ideas, and talked about the status of several current transformative (and deeply contested)
- Event,
- Interdisciplinary
People
Core Astronomy Faculty
Faculty
Kari Frank
Director of Operations of CIERA, Research Assistant Professor
Postdocs
Graduate Students
