Wednesday, July 01, 2026

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

Recent News From McDonnell Center Fellows

Using black holes to test Einstein’s theory of gravity

In 1916, Albert Einstein forever changed physics — and our understanding of the universe — by publishing his theory of general relativity. The theory defines gravity as not just a force, but as a consequence of massive objects warping the fabric of spacetime itself. Among other results, he also proposed that rotating objects should drag the surrounding spacetime, a phenomenon known as frame dragging.

A new study led by Shravan Menon, a graduate student in physics, uncovered a unique, previously overlooked approach for testing this phenomenon near rapidly spinning black holes. The study, published in The Astrophysical Journal Letters, was co-authored by postdoc Kun Hu and Henric Krawczynski. The study was supported in part by the McDonnell Center for the Space Sciences. 

Trevor GrandPre is studying the physics of life

What can physics tell us about life?

For Trevor GrandPre, the answer spans everything from the microscopic organization of proteins inside cells to the possibility of sustaining life beyond Earth.

An assistant professor of physics and an MCSS fellow, GrandPre studies some of biology's most fundamental questions, including how life organizes itself and maintains order.

Meet the undergraduate researcher making music from the cosmos

Rising junior Vanya Agrawal combines astrophysics and musicology to create symphonies in novae.

Sound doesn’t travel through a vacuum, but it’s still possible to find music in the cosmos. Vanya Agrawal, a rising junior majoring in astrophysics and minoring in music, thinks about astronomical phenomena in ways that go beyond typical calculations and observations. 

Agrawal collects her own data as an undergraduate researcher in the lab of Henric Krawczynski. Among other things, she works on analyzing the performance of gamma ray detectors and optimizing them for future space missions.

MCSS Fellows in the New

NASA Rover Finds “Complex Organic Matter” on Mars
Paul Byrne | Futurism

Recent Publications by McDonnell Center Fellows

Ahmed, M. R., Daylan, T., et al. (2026). TOI-2155 b: A Massive Brown Dwarf or a Very Low-mass Star? The Astronomical Journal, 172(1), 21. 

Alam, Z., Cappiello, C. V., & Ferrer, F. (2026). Dark matter boosted by terrestrial collisions. Physical Review. D, 113(12). 

Dev, P. S. B., et al. (2026). Boomerang mechanism explaining the excess radio background. Physical Review. D., 113(12). 

Wright, E. G., Wang, I., Fang, Y., Flynn, E. D., & Catalano, J. G. (2026). Climatic imprint on interfacially controlled platinum–palladium resources. PNAS Nexus, 5(6), pgag196. 

Tambe, P., Alford, M., et al. (2026). Thermal and magnetic effects on bulk viscosity in binary neutron star mergers. Physical Review. C, 113(5). 

New GeV constraints on GRB 221009A

Astrophysics & Space Sciences Seminar
Riki Matsui
University of Tokyo
Tuesday, July 7
10:00am, Compton 241

Planetary Thermal Emission
in the Age of Roman

St. Louis Astronomical Society July Meeting
Zifan Lin
McDonnell Postdoctoral Fellow, WashU
Friday, July 17
7:30pm, McDonnell 162

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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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