Friday, February 27, 2026

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

Save the Date!

2026 McDonnell Distinguished Lecture

Andrea M. Ghez, professor of Physics & Astronomy at UCLA and the Lauren B. Leichtman & Arthur E. Levine chair in Astrophysics, is one of the world’s leading experts in observational astrophysics and is director of UCLA’s Galactic Center Group.

In 2020, she became the fourth woman to be awarded the Nobel Prize in Physics for her independent discovery of a supermassive compact object, now generally recognized to be a black hole in the Milky Way’s galactic center.

Colloquium - Wednesday, March 25
Our Galactic Center: A Unique Laboratory for the Physics & Astrophysics of Black Holes
4:30pm, Wilson 214
Refreshments will be served at 3:45pm

Public Lecture - Thursday, March 26
From the Possibility to the Certainty of a Supermassive Black Hole
7:00pm, Whitaker 100

Recent News From McDonnell Center Fellows

Physics professor breaks down the science of "Stranger Things"

Trevor GrandPre unpacks the science behind "Stranger Things" season five, separating real-world physics from Hollywood spectacle. GrandPre explains where the show draws on legitimate theoretical concepts and where it stretches or abandons scientific plausibility for dramatic effect. 

Special Issue Honoring Frank Podosek

Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta will publish a special issue titled “From Stardust to Planets: Honoring the Scientific Legacy of Frank A. Podosek.” The volume is being organized by four MCSS affiliates: Rita Parai, Kun Wang, Pierre Haenecour (PhD 2016), and Guillaume Avice (MCSS visiting scientist). The issue is now open for submissions.

McDonnell Center Fellows in the News

Our solar system is surrounded by weird peanut-shaped objects.
Astronomers think they know why
William McKinnon | Scientific American

Recent Publications by McDonnell Center Fellows

Du, Y., Wiens, D. A., et al. (2025). Discovery of young submarine volcanism in the Cook Islands: New constraints on the location of the Rarotonga hotspot. Geochimica Et Cosmochimica Acta, 415, 283–296. 

Kostynick, R. P., Phillips, C. B., & Masteller, C. C. (2026). High‐Resolution channel geometry reveals contrasting styles of gravel river adjustment. Geophysical Research Letters, 53(4). 

Wang, X., Wang, K., et al. (2025). Potassium isotope fractionation in the cultured brachiopod Magellania venosa. Geochimica Et Cosmochimica Acta. 

Liang, Y., Krawczynski, M. J.,  Carpenter, P. K., Touran, J. P., et al. (2026). Corrigendum to “Temperature dependence of uranium and thorium partitioning in igneous zircons” [Geochim. Cosmochim. Acta 402 (2025) 62–75]. Geochimica Et Cosmochimica Acta. 

Silvestri, S., Krawczynski, H., et al. (2026). Magnetic-field order in the southwestern rim of RCW 86 constrained using X-Ray polarimetry. The Astrophysical Journal, 998(1), 172. 

Paige, L. A., Bradley, A. S., Winston, B., et al.(2026). Refining classification of complex agroforestry mosaic landscape from drone‐based imagery: Implications for landscape management and conservation. Journal of Applied Ecology, 63(2). 

Hidaka, H., Pravdivtseva, O., Meshik, A., et al. (2025). New insights into the Oklo natural fission reactors elucidated from isotopic studies using state-of-the-art analytical techniques. Radiation Protection Dosimetry, 202(2), 65–69. 

Abac, A. G., Piarulli, M., et al. (2025). Black Hole Spectroscopy and Tests of General Relativity with GW250114. Physical Review Letters, 136(4), 041403. 

Earth Data Challenge

EEPS Brown Bag
EEPS & GRI are hosting this team-based program. Open to undergrads, grads, and postdocs in any field.
TODAY, Friday, February 27
12:00am, Rudolph 301

mosAIcs & brAIns: engaging mosaics emerging from art, aesthetics, and AI

Saturday Science Lecture
Ralf Wessel
WashU
Saturday, February 28
10:00am, Crow 201

A Physics Approach to Deep Learning Theory

Physics Colloquium
Blake Bordelon
Harvard University
Wednesday, March 4
3:00pm, Compton 340

Isolating the Effects of Glacial Isostatic Adjustment  in the Chesapeake Bay

EEPS Colloquium
Sarah Stamps
Virginia Tech
Thursday, March 5
11:30am, Rudolph 301

Particle Acceleration in Highly Magnetized Plasmas

Astrophysics & Space Sciences Seminar 
Luca Comisso
Columbia University
 Friday, March 6
9:00am, Compton 241

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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.

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