The Fall 2020 Astronomy Newsletter has been published. Click here for details

We are proud to announce that the James B. Kaler classroom is ready for learning. Friday, August 21st, we had the dedication via Zoom, which we recorded for those who could not attend. https://mediaspace.illinois.edu/media/t/1_0h2ijpod?st=75  

Congratulations to Ko-Yun (Monica) Huang who successfully defended her thesis on Friday, August 21, 2020. The title of her paper was "Mapping The Interstellar Magnetic Field: Observations of the Goldreich-Kylafis Effect Towards Late-Type Evolved Stars and Star-Forming Regions".

Congratulations to Wei-Ting Liao, who successfully defended her thesis on August 18, 2020. The title of her paper is "The evolution of the first stellar systems".

Professor Brian Fields and graduate students Ada Ertel and Jesse Miller have published a paper linking a supernova to a mass extinction millions of years ago. Read the article here.

As we begin to transition into Fall 2020, we have new Astronomy Office Guidelines.  As before, the main priority in this will be the safety of our faculty, staff, researchers, and students, as well as their family, and our community overall. For Astronomy, we generally request that everyone continue to work at home as much as possible.  If your duties or circumstances (e...

Prof. Charles Gammie answers questions on the formation of the Moon and imaging the first black hole in LAS Experts. Read more here

  We are pleased to announce the 2020 Stanley Wyatt Memorial Award co-recipients, Barry Chiang and Kyle Nelli! The Stanley Wyatt Memorial Award is awarded annually to the graduating Astronomy major or minor with the most outstanding GPA and track record of undergraduate research. The award honors Professor Stanley Wyatt, a faculty member who helped shape the Illinois Astronomy...

  We are pleased to announce the 2020 Layla Suzanne Ryan Scholarship winner, Lina Florez! Through the generosity of the Ryan family, the Layla Suzanne Ryan Scholarship was founded in 2007 to honor her memory by recognizing the efforts of a young astronomer who shares their passion, experience, and knowledge of Astronomy with peers, faculty and the public through community outreach....

  We are pleased to announce the 2020 recipient of the Mr. & Mrs. Hsiang Pai & Wen-Hua Chu Department Of Astronomy Excellence In Research Grad Student Award Jennifer Li! The Chu Excellence in Research Graduate Student Award was founded in 2015 by our own Prof. You-Hua Chu and is named in honor of her parents, who instilled in her a love of learning and research. It recognizes...

Celeste Lu earned her PhD on Monday, June 22, 2020. The title of her defense was "Simulations of Active Galactic Nucleus Feedback in the Cores of Galaxy Clusters." Congratulations, Celeste!

Prof. Xin Liu has been named one of NCSA's Faculty Fellows for the 2020-21 school year. Read details here

"The Rise and Fall of Star Formation in Galaxies” has been selected as one of seven Symposia for the 2021 IAU General Assembly, and will be organized by Professor Tony Wong. The largest international gathering of astronomers is the IAU General Assembly which takes place every three years.  The scientific program at the IAU GA revolves around several Symposia that cover a broad range of...

As you probably have heard, the U of I is beginning the process of returning to work in early June.  The main priority in this will be the safety of our faculty, staff, researchers, and students, as well as their family, and our community overall. The Astronomy Department will be following the guidelines of campus during the transition with processes to mitigate the spread of COVID-19...

Congratulations to Dr. Miguel Holgado for successfully defending his thesis on May 18, 2020. The title of his defense was "Gravitational Waves as Direct Probes of Binary Evolution and Astrophysical Environments."