Prof. Joaquin Vieira's lab is the center of activity for the new camera at the South Pole Telescope. Read more.

Join the Astronomy Department at the Observatory on Friday, September 28, 2018 for an evening of conversations about the Universe and viewing the Moon and nearby planets with telescopes. This event is free and suitable for all ages.

The Astronomy Department invites applications for a tenure-track Assistant Professor appointment.  For complete details Click here

We begin the academic year with two faculty members newly promoted.   Joaquin Vieira is now an Associate Professor of Astronomy and of Physics.  Tony Wong is now a Full Professor of Astronomy.  Congratulations to all!

Xilu Wang successfully defended her PhD thesis, "Supernovae as gamma ray emitters from the MeV to the TeV."  She is moving on to a N3AS Postdoctoral Fellowship at Notre Dame and Berkeley.  Congratulations Dr. Wang!

Graduate Student Daniel George has won third place in the Association for Computing Machinery Student Research Competition. Congratulations, Daniel!

Erin Cox successfully defended her PhD thesis on July 2, 2018. Congratulations, Dr. Cox!

Congratulations to the Astronomy Class of 2018! Best wishes on your future endeavors--you make us proud! A record number twenty-two Astronomy and CS+Astronomy seniors graduated on May 13, 2018 at Krannert Center for the Performing Arts.  The 22 are: Sushma Adari, Itamar Allali, Jeffrey Bandurski, Caitlyn Buongiorno, Arthur Choi, Harrison Davis, Alex Dittmann, Jianyang Fu, Derek Glennon...

A second congratulations to Illinois alum Vicky Kalogera (Ph.D. 1997)! The Daniel I. Linzer Distinguished University Professor of Physics and Astronomy and the Director of the Center for Interdisciplinary Exploration and Research in Astrophysics at Northwestern University, Vicky was elected to the National Academy of Sciences- a great honor....

Graduating Senior Alex Dittmann is the winner of the 2018 Wyatt Award.  The Wyatt award is presented to the graduating Astronomy major or minor with the most outstanding GPA and track record of undergraduate research. Congratulations, Alex!

Vicky Kalogera (Ph.D. 1997) is the Daniel I. Linzer Distinguished University Professor of Physics and Astronomy and the Director of the Center for Interdisciplinary Exploration and Research in Astrophysics at Northwestern University.

Ben Ryan, who recently defended his thesis, won the 2018 Mr. and Mrs. Hsiang-pai and Wen-hua Chu Department Of Astronomy Excellence in Research Graduate Student Award. This award has been given by Prof. Emerita You-Hua Chu in honor of her parents, to a graduate student. Congratulations, Ben!

Every year, the University of Illinois awards six people the Chancellor’s Academic Professional Excellence (CAPE) Award. This year, Prof. and Assistant Chair Bryan Dunne was one of the winners. Congratulations, Bryan!    

Charlie Young, a sophomore in CS+Astronomy, has created an analytics program for Fighting Illini baseball. Read here for more details

Sidney Lower, a senior minoring in Astronomy, has won the 2018 Layla S. Ryan Scholarship award. The Layla Suzanne Ryan Memorial Scholarship is given to a Junior or Senior major or minor in Astronomy who exhibits excellence in community service participation with a preference for women...