Scholar Spotlight: Luna Urias

This is the second of eight TAURUS Scholar Spotlights of 2019.  Luna Urias is an undergraduate astrophysics major at Texas Tech University and is working with Dr. Jorge Zavala this summer on dust-obscured starburst galaxies.

About 333 miles northwest from Austin, in Lubbock, Texas (yes, still Texas!), Texas Tech University sits, where Luna Urias is majoring in Astrophysics. Luna (which means “Moon” in Spanish!) grew up in Van Horn, Texas, under the dark skies that have fascinated and inspired a lot of people for years.  Indeed, she remembers being amazed while looked through a small telescope that her parents owned. Ever since, she has been interested in science and astronomy. In the last year, she started a research project at her home institution in the exciting field of exoplanets, and this summer, Luna is “looking” through the eyes of ALMA -- one of the most powerful telescopes in the world -- to study faraway galaxies. Below, she tells us more about herself, her path to TAURUS, and more:

JZ: What inspired you to pursue a career in science?

LU: My parents are what inspired me to pursue a career in science. Growing up watching them achieve their goals and advance in their careers helped me believe that I could do it too. They have always pushed me beyond my comfort zone so that I could experience new things. Some of my fondest memories are of watching space documentaries, discussing the latest scientific discoveries, and our family evenings outside with our telescope. When I told them I wanted to pursue something in science they were incredibly supportive and have continued to be an important part of why I’ve made it this far.

JZ: What are you most proud of?

LU: Lately, I’ve been pretty proud of myself. I grew up in a small town with limited science and technology resources which made pursuing a career in science a difficult transition. A lot of late study nights have led me to where I am now, working with TAURUS!

JZ: What advice would you give to young people interested in following a science career?

LU: Just go for it, you will never know if you’re able to do it until you try.

This TAURUS program represents a new world of opportunities for Luna’s future career in science. In just a few weeks, she will come back to West Texas and visit McDonald Observatory. She will be under those dark skies that inspired her a long time ago, but this time, taking astronomical observations at a professional telescope. Luna is a clear inspiration not only to her two younger siblings but to all young people and, particularly, to those belonging to underrepresented groups.

Research Pro-Tip #1: Write things down!

This is the first research pro-tip for the TAURUS blog! We hope to continue these into the future at random points throughout the summer, and maybe even during the school year too.  The first one is brought to you by TAURUS Director, Caitlin Casey.

Some pages in a research notebook of mine from my undergrad years!

The first tip I have for our TAURUS Scholars as they really dig into their research projects is to WRITE. THINGS. DOWN.  Every time you have a meeting with your supervisor and they’re explaining how to do something, *take notes*.  I know some of y’all have awesome memories, but I promise something will get lost through the cracks, and as you age, your ability to remember things *rapidly* diminishes while the level of complexity of the things you need to remember *rapidly* increases.  So, it’s good to start the habit early.

To speak from the experience of a research supervisor and someone who regularly talks to other professors/research supervisors, I can say that writing things down reflects well on you: it sends the message that you value your supervisor's time and will make every effort to absorb as much of what they say in any interaction you have.  So it's not just about how much you can or can't remember from a conversation!

Research lab books are a fantastic tool.  While I, too, love gadgets, there’s often nothing better than pen and paper.  I still have my research lab notebook from my undergrad days, and I do, actually, occasionally look back on it!  Why? I used it to work out lots of fundamental math that I sometimes forget on a day to day basis, but I know exactly where to look back to find the calculation written out as it makes sense to me.

Also, there will be some point during this summer where you hit a road block and need to re-do some of your work; that’s totally normal and expected in the research process! But it is *way* easier and more efficient for you to go back and re-do things when you’ve written every step of your analysis down, even if it’s really quick scribbles only you would understand.

While those quick scribbles are totally a valid form of note-taking and should be included in your lab books (nothing’s too informal to go in there!), you should, at least for 10 minutes once a week, pause to write down a version of all the analysis you’ve done that week, just so you have a bit more of a lasting record.  Think: are you going to remember what the random scribbles mean 7 weeks from now?  Probably not so… do yourself a favor.

Last comment about writing things down: not only does it make it easier and more efficient to do analysis, but it also makes it much easier to write up formally after you’ve done the analysis since your calculations are well documented.  When it eventually comes time for a referee report, and in the event you need to rework a calculation with revised assumptions, there your notebook will be to save you from the headache of digging up old, uncommented code from months ago.

In short, write things down. It's never too late to start! :)

Scholar Spotlight: Alexis Lupo

This is the first TAURUS Scholar Spotlight of 2019!  Alexis Lupo comes to TAURUS and UT Austin from one of our sister institutions, the University of Texas El Paso.  This summer she is working with Dr. Will Best on understanding binary brown dwarfs and low-mass stars.  Dr. Best shares with us Alexis' path to UT!

Alexis joins us this summer from El Paso, where she grew up and now attends the University of Texas at El Paso (UTEP). She is excited by the opportunity to get hands-on experience with astronomy at UT Austin. Alexis describes research as, “A very personal thing because it’s a great way to challenge yourself and grow,” and she is eager to learn how to apply knowledge she’s learned in classes to a project. TAURUS will be her first full-time experience in research.

Alexis names a few sources of inspiration for her fascination with astronomy. Her parents were each in the first generation in their families to get college degrees, so they have always emphasized the importance of education and hard work. At the same time, her parents encouraged her to pursue things she enjoys. Her father is a "huge space buff,” she says, and she remembers being glued to the TV as a child watching space documentaries. This fueled Alexis' excitement for astronomy and learning about the universe. A professor at UTEP, Dr. Héctor Noriega-Mendoza, has also motivated Alexis with his passion for astronomy. “He’s been a huge help to me and a huge inspiration,” says Alexis. "He’s very passionate about what he does.” She also looks up to the astronaut Chris Hadfield, and is motivated by his advice to pursue your dreams. “I can’t imagine anything else that I would like to do more” than study astronomy, she says.

Alexis enjoys exploring the world through walking, drawing, and reading, especially science fiction and fantasy. "It’s fascinating to read and get into somebody else’s mind,” she says. Alexis enjoys creating stories and illustrating the characters.

Alexis has completed her junior year at UTEP and is planning to apply to graduate programs in astronomy this coming Fall. She has goals beyond graduate school, too: she looks forward to applying for jobs at NASA. “I would love to do research for them, and hopefully one day to be an astronaut.” With that in mind, she’s also been learning how to fly single-engine airplanes, and is working towards her pilot’s license. She is thinking about joining the Air Force after graduate school in order to get more experience flying.


El Paso, as an “engineering-focused town,” has few avenues for a young scientist to pursue astronomy. UTEP offers only two astronomy courses, and as Alexis puts it, “It has been difficult to find opportunities in astronomy for me back at home that I can learn from and grow from as a scientist.” So Alexis found what she needed in the TAURUS program, which she says has drawn her out of her comfort zone but is a vital step in the direction she wants to go. She only heard about TAURUS on the day the application was due, but she put together the application on short notice and here she is. Alexis encourages younger students who are interested in astronomy to, “Pursue their dream no matter what, and apply for every opportunity they can get their hands on. You have to search for your own opportunities if they’re not presented to you.”

New year, new lab, more python!

This year's setup for TAURUS scholars is a bit different than in years past, where we've had small TAURUS offices for students set up on the 17th floor with individual laptops.  As last year's cohort can remember, construction was taking place **all summer long** in the area that previously housed the astronomy department library.  It was being transformed into the undergraduate astronomy computer lab space, pictured here.  It's such a fantastic space to work and teach in!

And because this year is the first time two different, simultaneous summer programs are operating -- TAURUS and an NSF/DOD-funded REU -- we have so many incredible students here all at once, we really need a space like this lab so that everyone can work together and help each other out.

Like last year, Jackie Champagne, with the help of Sam Factor, Sydney Sherman, and other grad students, kicked off the summer of seminars with a four-part python workshop (that's still running!).  From reading in data files, to plotting them up, and fitting a Gaussian to an emission line, students will be well-equipped to tackle the rest of their summer research with these fundamental skills in-hand.  Thanks for a great kick-off everyone!

TAURUS Year Four Launches!

Heya TAURUS fam! Welcome back to the blog.  Today we kicked off the fourth year of the TAURUS program here in Austin.  It's hard to believe we've been running this long, with 17 TAURUS alumni and 8 2019 TAURUS Scholars!  We are so thrilled to have them here.  Because the weather was a bit more cooperative this year than usual, we were able to take our group "arrival" photo in front of the UT tower without completely melting.  Check it out!

Front row: Alexis Lupo, Luna Urias, Lina Florez, Oscar Chavez Ortiz.
Back row: Ariel Mora, Nolan Elauria, Derek Zapata, Miguel Gutierrez.

A very brief introduction to our scholars (but come back to check out the Scholar Spotlights that'll come over the course of the summer!):

Alexis Lupo, University of Texas at El Paso working with Dr. Will Best

Luna Urias, Texas Tech University working with Dr. Jorge Zavala

Lina Florez, University of Illinois working with Dr. David Wilson

Oscar Chavez Ortiz, University of California Berkeley working with Dr. Micaela Bagley

Ariel Mora, Bennington College working with Dr. Ya-Lin Wu

Lana Elauria, Cal Poly San Luis Obispo working with Dr. Aaron Rizzuto

Derek Zapata, Colby College working with Dr. Justin Spilker

Miguel Gutierrez, Florida Institute of Technology working with Dr. Ben Tofflemire

Welcome TAURUS Scholars! Get ready for a fun 10 weeks.