Friday, January 16, 2026

New and exciting activities in the
McDonnell Center for the Space Sciences

Recent News From McDonnell Center Fellows

A Neutrino Mystery with Dr. Bhupal Dev

Bhupal Dev was recently interviewed by John Michael Godier for the Event Horizon podcast. They explored the perplexing 200 PeV particle detection beneath the Mediterranean Sea, nicknamed the “impossible neutrino.” This signal is vastly more energetic than previous observations and raises questions about why the larger IceCube detector did not observe it.

247th American Astronomical Society Meeting

From January 4-8, ten people from WashU attended the  247th American Astronomical Society (AAS) Meeting in Phoenix: Tansu Daylan, Manel Errando, Ekrem Esmer, Zifan Lin, Mike Nowak, Aysu Ece Sarıcaoğlu, Jacqueline Vazquez, Aavik Wadivkar, Bryce Wedig, and Nathan Whitsett. In addition to participating in sessions and discussions, our team hosted a booth to connect with prospective graduate students.

McDonnell Center Fellows in the News

Odd elements in supernova blast might have implications for alien life
Katharina Lodders | New Scientist

Scientists thought a planet in our solar system could support life. But new study changes that
Paul Byrne | The Independent

Europa, where NASA spacecraft is bound, may not have conditions for life
Paul Byrne | USA Today

Study casts doubt on potential for life on Jupiter's moon Europa
Paul Byrne | Reuters

Recent Publications by McDonnell Center Fellows

Mura, A., McKinnon, W., et al. (2026). Synchronized eruptions on Io: possible evidence of interconnected subsurface magma reservoirs. Journal of Geophysical Research Planets, 131(1). 

Luepker, M., Yuan, Y., & Chen, A. Y. (2025). Stable Collisionless Tori around Kerr Black Holes. The Astrophysical Journal, 996(1), 75. 

Liu, H., Wang, K., et al. (2025). Extremely light potassium isotopic compositions of the continental eclogites and high-pressure metamorphic veins reveal the fluid-rock interactions in subduction zones. Geochimica Et Cosmochimica Acta. 

Guimond, C. M., Byrne, P. K., et al. (2026). Water versus Land on temperate rocky planets. Space Science Reviews, 222(1), 8. 

Ai, X.C., Dev, P.S.B., et al. (2025). New physics search at the CEPC: a general perspective. Chinese Physics C, 49(12), 123108. 

Byrne, P. K., Dawson, H. G., Catalano, J. G., Skemer, P., Wiens, D. A., et al. (2026). Little to no active faulting likely at Europa’s seafloor today. Nature Communications, 17(1), 4. 

Blunt, S., Daylan, T., et al. (2025). Statistical method for constraining the capability of the Habitable Worlds Observatory to understand ozone onset time in Earth analogs. Journal of Astronomical Telescopes Instruments and Systems, 11(04). 

Burchell, M. J., Ogliore, R. C., & Wozniakiewicz, P. J. (2026). Sampling the volcanic plumes at Io: Impact speeds and shock conditions. Meteoritics and Planetary Science. 

Crowther, S., Meshik, A., Pravdivtseva, O., et al. (2025). An I-Xe age 8 Myr after solar system formation in a Hayabusa2 sample records alteration on the parent planetesimal of asteroid Ryugu. Geochimica Et Cosmochimica Acta, 413, 218–232. 

Planets with Two Suns: What Eclipsing Binaries Can Tell Us About Their Hidden Worlds

St. Louis Astronomical Society January Meeting
Ekrem Esmer
WashU McDonnell Center Postdoctoral Fellow
TONIGHT, Friday, January 16
7:30pm, McDonnell 162

New Frontiers in Electrical, Thermal, and Thermoelectric Transport Predictions

Physics Colloquium
Jenny Coulter
Flatiron Institute
Wednesday, January 21
3:00pm, Crow 204

Enhanced Rock Weathering for Improved Smallholder Farmer Welfare

EEPS Colloquium
Jacob Jordan
Chief Science Officer, Mati Carbon
Thursday, January 22
11:30am, Rudolph 301

Subscribe to the MCSS Messenger

Did someone forward this MCSS Messenger to you? Would you like to be added to the email list?

Interim Director: William McKinnon
Associate Director: Michael Nowak
Assistant to the Director: Vickie Gee
Communications Specialist: Alison Verbeck

Compiled and edited by Alison Verbeck. Please send any contributions to alison@wustl.edu.

Connect with Us

 © 2026   All rights reserved