Friday, November 14, 2025

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

Recent News From McDonnell Center Fellows

2025 Robert M. Walker Distinguished Lecture Videos

Did you miss the Robert M. Walker Distinguished Colloquium or Public Lecture? Videos are now available.

Colloquium: The NASA Psyche Mission: Preparing for the Science of an Unknown Object

Public Lecture: The NASA Psyche Mission: First Visit to an Unknown World

How WashU scientists are helping a Metro East town battle a public health crisis

An interdisciplinary team of WashU researchers, including MCSS fellow Claire Masteller, are using anthropology, microbiology, hydrology, data science, and environmental engineering to address the health impacts of chronic flooding in Cahokia Heights, Illinois.

Fall 2025 Undergraduate Research Symposium

The Fall 2025 Undergraduate Research Symposium, held on November 7 in Bauer Hall, brought together over 250 WashU students from various disciplines to present their research through poster sessions and lightning talks. Several MCSS fellows served as faculty mentors for the following students:

Andrew Bear (Karthik Ramanathan)
Isabella Caffarelli (Henric Krawczynski)
Brett Carnes (James Buckley)
Sophie Fendler (James Buckley)
Jack Galloway (James Buckley)
Isaac Gutierrez (Michael Nowak)

Landon Kahl (Saori Pastore)
Saanya Manoj (Alex Chen)
Lydia Mazeeva (Maria Piarulli)
Sam Powers (James Buckley)
Jodie Xiao (Tansu Daylan)

Recent Publications by McDonnell Center Fellows

Cassata, W. S., Parai, R., et al. (2025). Comets and carbonaceous chondrites delivered noble gases to the Moon. Earth and Planetary Science Letters, 671, 119654. 

Ni, L., Sobotka, L., et al. (2025). Resonant structure of Na18 and the N=8 shell. Physical Review. C, 112(2). 

Vayrac, F., Avice, G., Zhang, X. J., Parai, R., et al. (2025). Records of mantle geodynamics and atmospheric escape in Archean quartz. Science Advances, 11(45), eaea3380. 

Awaki, H., Bose, R., Braun, D., Chun, S., Gau, E.,  Hu, K., Krawczynski, H., Lisalda, L., Menon, S., Rauch, B., Cavero, N.R., et al. (2025). XL-Calibur measurements of polarized hard X-ray emission from the Crab. Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society Letters, 540(1), L34–L40. 

Charity, R. J., Dronchi, N., Sobotka, L. G., et al. (2025). Picosecond lifetime measurements of resonances using a thick-target invariant-mass technique. Physical Review. C, 112(4). 

MCSS Postdoctoral Fellowship Opening

MCSS is hiring a postdoctoral fellow in the broad field of space sciences. We welcome applicants with interests in Astromaterials, Cosmochemistry, or Meteoritics; Experimental, Theoretical, or Observational Astrophysics; Planetary Science; Particle and Nuclear Physics, Cosmology and Gravitation; and Earth as a Planet. In their application materials, the candidate should describe their research interests and list potential collaborators from among the faculty fellows of the MCSS. 

Please share this opportunity with your research contacts and encourage qualified candidates to apply by December 20, 2025.

PASSPoRT to WashU

PASSPoRT to WashU (Pathways to Advanced Scientific Skills through Postdoctoral Research Training) is a virtual full-day event for prospective postdocs hosted by the Office of Postdoctoral Affairs at WashU. This event is open to advanced PhD students (post-qualifying exams), recent PhD graduates, and early-stage postdocs.

This virtual event will be held on Thursday, December 4, 2025. Registration is now open.

Cosmic Crust Pizza Party

Astrophysics Open House
Department of Physics
Washington University
TODAY, Friday, November 14
12:00pm, Compton Hall Library

 Feeding the Beast: How Black Holes Dine and Shine / Pulsars, the Lighthouses of the Cosmos

Astronomy on Tap
Yajie Yuan / Alex Chen
WashU
Tuesday, November 18
6:00pm, Urban Chestnut

WashU Physics Research Symposium

7th Annual WUPRS Poster Session
Department of Physics
Wednesday, November 19
3:00-6:00pm, Compton 241/245

TBA

EEPS Colloquium
Joe Guinness
WashU Statistics & Data Science
Thursday, November 20
11:30am, Rudolph 301

Silent Sky

Performing Arts Department
partnered with Dept. of Physics
Thursday, November 20
- Sunday, November 23
Evenings: 7:30pm, Matinees: 2:00pm
A.E. Hotchner Studio Theater

From Pixels to Primordial Non-Gaussianity and Beyond / AGN Jets in Complex Cluster Environments

Astrophysics & Space Sciences Seminar
Richard Feder-Staehle, UC Berkeley / Lindsey Gordon, UMN
Friday, November 21
9:00am, Compton 241

Electromagnetic Signals of High-Frequency Gravitational Waves

Physics Theory Seminar
Asher Berlin
Fermilab
Friday, November 21
3:00pm, Compton 241

From Variable Stars to Dark Matter – The Expanding Legacy of Henrietta Leavitt

Physics/PAD Colloquium
Tansu Daylan / Chris Cappiello /
Bryce Wedig / AAvik Wadvikar
WashU
Friday, November 21
3:00pm-4:30pm, Seigle 206

The Making of an Enterprise: How Star Trek Helped NASA Dream Big and How NASA Helped Star Trek Survive

St. Louis Astronomical Society November Meeting
Glen Swanson
Friday, November 21
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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