Friday, August 29, 2025

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

Recent News from McDonnell Center Fellows

SuperHERO: Pioneering High-Resolution X-Ray Astronomy from the Edge of Space

The SuperHERO (Super–High Energy Replicated Optics) mission is a NASA-funded balloon-borne observatory designed to make images ten times sharper in the hard X-ray band than previous missions, SuperHERO represents a major leap forward in space exploration technology and serves as a testbed for a more extensive future mission that aims to build upon the success of NuSTAR (Nuclear Spectroscopic Telescope Array), which was launched by NASA in 2012. 

SuperHERO's primary goal is to capture incredibly detailed images of high-energy objects in space, such as pulsar wind nebulae, supernova remnants, and active galactic nuclei. These objects are among the most energetic and mysterious in the universe.

The WashU SuperHERO team is led by Henric Krawczynski, the Wilfred R. and Ann Lee Konneker Distinguished Professor in Physics and a fellow of the McDonnell Center for the Space Sciences.

EEPS Open House

MCSS hosted a table at the EEPS open house on Thursday, August 28, to share information about the center. We engaged with several undergrads who showed interest in our programs and the summer undergraduate research fellowship.

Recent Publications by McDonnell Center Fellows

Barnes, J. J., Koefoed, P., Wang, K., et al. (2025). The variety and origin of materials accreted by Bennu’s parent asteroid. Nature Astronomy. 

Goddi, C., Nowak, M. A., et al. (2025). First polarization study of the M87 jet and active galactic nuclei at submillimeter wavelengths with ALMA. Astronomy and Astrophysics, 699, A265. 

Jenkins, S. A., Daylan, T., et al. (2025). An eccentric Sub-Neptune moving into the evaporation desert*. The Astrophysical Journal Letters, 989(2), L20. 

Mergelsberg, S. T., Flynn, E. D., & Catalano, J. G., et al.  (2025). Structural incorporation into goethite fractionates rare earth elements. RSC Advances, 15(35), 28815–28826. 

Roth, L., McKinnon, W.B., et al. (2025). Plume Activity on Europa: Current knowledge and search Strategy for Europa Clipper. The Planetary Science Journal, 6(8), 182. 

Dawson, H. G., Carpenter, P. K., & Krawczynski, M. J. (2025). Amphibole-silicate melt halogen partition coefficients: cryptic amphibole fractionation and chlorine to fluorine ratios in arc magmas. Contributions to Mineralogy and Petrology, 180(9). 

Flores, A. R., & Piarulli, M., et al. (2025). Quantum Monte Carlo calculations of neutron- α scattering via an integral relation. Physical Review. C. 

Frensch, Y. G. C., Daylan, T., et al. (2025). Three hot Jupiters transiting K-dwarfs with significant heavy element masses. Astronomy and Astrophysics, 700, A118. 

Pignatari, M., Amari, S., et al. (2025). Production of radioactive ²²NA in core-collapse supernovae: the NE-E(L) component in presolar grains and its possible consequences on supernova observations. The Astrophysical Journal, 990(1), 19. 

Electron and Neutrino Interactions with Nuclei

Physics Colloquium
Saori Pastore
University of British Columbia
Wednesday, September 3
3:00pm, Compton 241

Piecing Together the Dining Habits of Supermassive Black Holes

Astrophysics & Space Sciences Seminar
Peter Boorman, Caltech
Friday, September 5
9:00am, Compton 241

Fellowship Writing Workshops

The NSF PREPARE workshop is now open for applications. This workshop is designed to assist you with applications to the NSF Graduate Research Fellowship Program (GRFP), which is highly recommended for all eligible graduate students. The university offers an incentive program for fellowship applications.

MCSS Annual Newsletter - Summer 2025

Highlights from the past year have been compiled into a summer 2025 newsletter.

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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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