New and exciting activities in the
McDonnell Center for the Space Sciences
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Recent News From McDonnell Center Fellows
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Seeing the smallest details: WashU’s new femtosecond laser
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A new laser in WashU’s isotope cosmochemistry lab is expanding what researchers can see, measure, and understand about planetary materials.
Installed in February through the generosity of Jerrold and Marsha Grossman, the Teledyne Photon Machines IRIDIA femtosecond laser ablation system represents a major step forward in analytical capability.
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ADAPT Team Tests Gamma-Ray Instrument at CERN
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Professor Jim Buckley and his ADAPT team, including WashU collaborators Blake Bal, Richard Bose, Matt Fowlerfinn and Marion Sudvarg, are testing the ADAPT gamma-ray experiment at CERN using the PS and SPS injector beam lines.
The instrument is being calibrated ahead of a planned Antarctic balloon flight this fall. ADAPT is designed to detect gamma-ray bursts and other high-energy transients while serving as a pathfinder for a future space-based observatory focused on dark matter and multi-messenger astrophysics.
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During the CERN campaign, the team is using high-energy muons, protons, electrons and positrons to test and calibrate the instrument. ADAPT is a first major step toward a future gamma-ray observatory designed to advance research in particle astrophysics and multi-messenger astronomy, including studies of dark matter, gamma-ray bursts, active galaxies and gravitational waves.
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Class Acts: Izzy Caffarelli
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Isabella (Izzy) Caffarelli, a senior majoring in applied mathematics and minoring in astrophysics, was highlighted in a recent Class Acts story. She is looking forward to a new research challenge after graduating from WashU. After years of studying black holes, Caffarelli is pivoting to another complex computational task: using advanced algorithms to sort and understand neurological data in a more coherent way.
Caffarelli has been conducting research with Henric Krawczynski since her sophomore year in 2023. She starts her new postbaccalaureate position with the National Institutes of Health in Bethesda, Md., in July.
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Recent Publications by McDonnell Center Fellows
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Archer, A., Errando, M., Iskakova, M., Rabinowitz, P. L., et al. (2026a). Investigation of the Microquasar SS 433 with VERITAS. The Astrophysical Journal, 1002(1), 88.
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Arvidson, R. E., Catalano, J. G., Christian, J. R., Hughes, M. N., Knight, A. L., McKinnon, W. B., O’Sullivan, J. A., Politte, D. V., Zhou, F., et al. (2026). Saponite bearing material excavated during the formation of a recent 25‐m‐Diameter impact crater in southeastern Arabia Terra on Mars. Journal of Geophysical Research Planets, 131(5).
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Archer, A., Buckley, J. H., Errando, M., Hughes, Z., Iskakova, M., Rabinowitz, P. L., et al. (2026). VERITAS Observations Contemporaneous with the LHAASO Detection of NGC 4278. The Astrophysical Journal, 1001(2), 199.
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Advances in Digital Innovation Across
Arts & Sciences and Beyond
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Note:
MCSS Fellow Trevor Grandpre is one of the speakers
TODAY, Friday, May 8
9:00am - 5:00pm, Holmes Lounge
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Graduate Hooding & Recognition Ceremony
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Wednesday, May 13
3:00pm, Graham Chapel
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Commencement: Class of 2026
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Friday, May 15
9:00am, Francis Field
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Planets with Two Suns: What Eclipsing Binaries Can Tell Us About Their Hidden Worlds
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St. Louis Astronomical Society April Meeting
Ekrem Esmer, WashU
Friday, May 15
7:30pm, McDonnell 162
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McDonnell Center Contacts |
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Compiled and edited by Alison Verbeck. Please send any contributions to alison@wustl.edu.
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© 2026 All rights reserved
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