Scholar Spotlight: Mateo Guerra Toro

The third scholar spotlight of 2021 features Mateo Guerra Toro, a physics major at the Missouri State University. Mateo is working with Dr. Yifan Zhou in using Bayesian statistics to correct the biases in the inclination measurements of brown dwarfs' spin axes. He will also use the updated measurements to explore the viewing geometry effect on the brown dwarfs' variability amplitudes and colors. He recently sat down with Dr. Zhou to discuss his trajectory.

YZ: Tell me about yourself: your background and what inspired you to pursue a career in astronomy/science?

MGT: I was born and raised in Ecuador. I started to grow an interest in physics and engineering when I was in high school. I enjoyed solving physics questions! Then, when I was seventeen, I moved to the US to study physics at Missouri State University. Over there, my friend introduced me to volunteer at the university observatory, where I learned to set up a 16-inch telescope for public viewing. I really love doing it! Through the volunteer work, I met my research advisor, Dr. Sarah Morrison, and started doing research about protoplanetary disks with her. This research work makes my interest in astronomy grow, so I decided to pursue a career in astronomy.

YZ: Wow, going abroad at the age of seventeen! That must be quite an adventure. Is there anything you find particularly challenging or enjoyable studying in the US?

MGT: English is what I find challenging. Although I've been learning English my whole life, I had never been to an English environment before coming to the US. So I had to overcome the language barrier. I make progress all the time.

YZ: Same thing for me. I am still learning English every day of my life. What about the enjoyable part?

MGT: The people surrounding me. They are very nice and make me happy. I enjoy hanging out with them, playing soccer, and watching movies together.

YZ: Let's talk about astronomy. What's in astronomy that you find the most compelling?

MGT: I am fascinated by cosmology, the evolution of the universe, and the formation and evolution of galaxies. I am also passionate about my research in protoplanetary disks and my current project about brown dwarfs. 

YZ: Is there a moment in your research when you have felt really proud?

MGT: Yes! The moment I got my results from my protoplanetary disk simulations. In that project, I put together the simulations and arranged the setup files. I was learning the physics behind the simulation and programming at the same time, which was not easy. The simulation was about a disk around a late-M star. The graph I obtained showed that the simulation evolves into a multi-planet system that mimics the TRAPPIST-1 system. This was because the planets were trapped in a resonance chain. Seeing my simulation results match a real planetary system is very satisfying.

YZ: That's awesome! I can feel your passion for your research. What motivates you to apply to the TAURUS program?

MGT: As an international student, I have much fewer options. The NSF REUs typically don't accept international students. That's why I am very grateful to the TAURUS organizers, Caitlin and John, for giving me this opportunity. What I like the most about TAURUS program is that it is very well structured and organized. It includes summer research and encourages and supports us to go to the AAS meeting to present our research. These are super valuable for my career.

YZ: Speaking of career, where do you see yourself in 5 or 10 years?

MGT: I want to be a professional astronomer and have a
research group. I want to use my knowledge and experience to help the scientific community grow.

YZ: Finally, if someone came to you for advice, what would you tell them?

MGT: pay attention to what you love. Don't be discouraged by other people, especially when they bring up "practical" issues. When I decided to study physics, I did not know there were so many opportunities. I learned about them as I worked hard for my research. So yeah, pay the most attention to what you love.

Scholar Spotlight: Natalia Garza Navarro

The second TAURUS Scholar Spotlight of 2021 is all about Natalia Garza Navarro, hailing from Agnes Scott College.  She sat down with her mentor, Dr. David Wilson, to talk about science and her passions.

Natalia traces her interest in science to an early age. “I’ve always loved science museums,” she says. “When we went on family vacations I would have my mom take me to the science and history museums.” Taking science classes in high school and college deepened her interest in and knowledge of astronomy, both in class and whilst beginning to do research. “I had professors who really inspired me and made astronomy an engaging topic. As I got further into it I found I really liked the programming aspect as well.” 

For her TAURUS research, Natalia is searching for a mysterious type of hot, variable white dwarfs using data from the TESS spacecraft. “All my research projects so far have been short,” and she hasn’t been able to see the end result. For TAURUS, “I would love to work through a whole project, getting really good at one thing and doing it well”. Natalia has previously worked with radio telescope data, and enjoyed the challenge to learn new skills and push herself to produce useful science from the images. 

Whilst initially intending on pursuing a research career, Natalia has recently become interested in astronomy communication.  “When I started doing astro I thought going into research was the only path,” she says. “But last year I spent a week shadowing the astronomy director at the Fernbank Science Center, and I got to see a different aspect of working in science -- science outreach. Throughout high school I volunteered at the public library running early education programs, and loved that aspect of helping people learn.” Volunteering at the science center showed her that it was possible to combine that interest in education with scientific research.

“What I’d love to do is provide more opportunities for people from lower income backgrounds to have better access to science education.” Natalia considers herself lucky to have been able to study astronomy in high school, and sees the importance of science centers and museums to allow other people the same opportunities.  

Natalia is still interested in working in research initially, and plans to go to grad school for a PhD. “I’d like to have that experience, so that I can give younger students advice about the research route, and the difficulties I overcame going down that path.” 

Natalia will be presenting her research at the AAS winter meeting in January, so please come and see her if you are looking for a grad student! 

Scholar Spotlight: Carlos Garcia Diaz

Our first TAURUS Scholar Spotlight of the 2021 summer highlights Carlos Garcia Diaz. Carlos recently graduated with a major in Physics from the Delaware State University, and will be attending the University of Massachusetts Amherst as a graduate student in Astronomy this fall. Carlos is working with Prof. Karl Gebhardt in searching the HETDEX dataset for massive clusters of galaxies in the early universe. Below is a summary of a recent fun discussion between the two.

KG: What would be one of the most exciting results you could imagine from your research this summer?

CD: I would love to find a cluster of galaxies that is so massive in the early universe that it will challange dark matter models. Since these clusters are so young, it could test the ability of a massive structure to form. Just looking through the dataset so far has been fun. And take a look at a few of these interesting cases that I found already.

Right then, Carlos presented two examples of potentially massive clusters that he pulled out of the 0.6 million dataset. It is impressive and exciting. It just might be that already Carlos will need to increase the overall goal that he outlined!

KG: What is the most enjoyable aspect of research so far for you?

CD: Coding! I get so excited sometimes to get a piece of code to work properly that I will stay up late playing around with the code. I have spent many late nights doing this. It is so satisfying to finally get the plot first just to display, and second to match expectations. I look forward to continuing this work.

KG: What is the most difficult aspect of research so far for you?

CD: Having confidence in what you are doing, and specifically in comparison to everyone around you. Once you realize that everyone around is very intelligent, you begin to doubt your work and you cannot but help comparing your output to their output. What helps me to deal with this is knowing that everyone is basically in the same situation, and thinking the same way. Everyone also wants success for each other, especially in this program, and it is comforting to know that the support exists.

KG: What are some surprising positive aspects that you experienced over this past 1.5 years of COVID
insanity that we all went through?

CD: I learned how to be alone with myself and understand myself a bit more. As most of us experienced, my classes were all just me sitting in my room, and I did not interact with many people. This isolation can take a toll and you really begin to learn how to be content with yourself. I also started some new hobbies. I started hiking. One highlight was hiking down to the bottom of the Grand Canyon and back up in one long day. Absolutely beautiful.

KG: Why did you choose the TAURUS program?

CD: I had wanted to be part of the TAURUS program for some time now, and was accepted for last summer's program that was cancelled. It's great to be here this summer. TAURUS is considered among the best programs for research, and it is one of the few available to DACA recipients.

KG: What one food item do you miss the most?

CD: My mother's ceviche! No one makes it like her. 

KG: What are some of the ultimate goals for you in research?

CD: I know it will be hard, but I would love to get a faculty position someday. I will put in as much as effort that is needed. I have to try my hardest.

When Carlos is not coding, he can be found playing pick-up soccer games in Zilker Park, even in the ridiculous heat of Austin. From the research he has done already, he is well on his way to finding some of the most interesting objects in the early universe. We are lucky and excited to have Carlos in the TAURUS family.

TAURUS 2021 Launch! Happy Juneteenth!!

It's been a LONNNNGG time since the last piece on the TAURUS blog, and so we're happy to start off a new summer and new year with a bang, celebrating this fantastic group of scholars on the first federally-recognized JUNETEENTH! The 2021 TAURUS Scholars are here, in person in Austin, and are already two weeks into their summer research projects.  Here's a photo of them all together in the PMA building!

The last post to this blog was just as we were wrapping up the 2019 program.  Little did we know we'd wait over a year to welcome the next class of TAURUS Scholars, due to the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic.  COVID has been hard for everyone, but the impact on our undergraduate students is unique.  Four (or five, or six) years isn't very long to launch from high school at one end to college graduation on the other, dreaming about your long-term plans and career goals. COVID took out 1.5 years of really important time for this generation of students.  TAURUS made the difficult decision last spring to call off the 2020 program, because we just knew that conducting research remotely just wasn't the same as our in person program.  One of the primary goals of TAURUS is community building.  The bonds you make with other scholars, your mentors, and other connections just can't be reproduced over zoom.  So we postponed, crossing our fingers all year long that we could return in person for 2021.

Miraculously we're here, and we are so grateful for that.  Our 2020 class of TAURUS Scholars waited a long time to meet each other and start their projects; they were joined by several additional 2021 TAURUS Scholars to form the 2021 class -- our fifth cohort of TAURUS Scholars and the biggest group yet!

The road to an in-person program has been long and challenging, and this year's scholars are still faced with additional hurdles unique to their year -- they had to quarantine for a week in the residence halls and start the program on zoom, get a COVID PCR test on campus, and they have limited access to the kitchen due to safety restrictions (grr, we're working on it!).  On top of that they get to learn python, astrophysics, and how to work toward their own research goals.  But the most important thing is that they're here, they're working on amazing science projects, and they're an amazing group.  They are: 

Diana Gonzalez-Argueta, from the New Jersey Institute of Technology, working with Prof. Caroline Morley

Rebeca Soto Armendariz, from Angelo State University working with Prof. Brendan Bowler

Carlos Garcia Diaz, from Delaware State University working with Prof. Karl Gebhardt

Imani Dindy, from Oklahoma State University working with Dr. Justin Spilker

Stefany Fabian Dubon, from Bryn Mawr College working with Prof. Danielle Berg and Dr. Karla Arellano-Córdova

Karina Kimani-Stewart, from Texas Tech University working with Dr. Michael Gully-Santiago and Prof. Caroline Morley

Amanda Lue, from Colgate University working with Dr. David Guszejnov and Prof. Stella Offner

Natalia Garza Navarro, from Agnes Scott College working with Dr. David Wilson

Mateo Guerra Toro, from Missouri State University working with Dr. Yifan Zhou

Mikayla Wilson, from Texas Christian University working with Dr. Ben Tofflemire

Over the next few weeks we'll be introducing them to you one by one so you get to know them better. Stay tuned!

And of course, this first post of the year is happening on an auspicious day -- Juneteenth, the day we celebrate when news of the end of slavery reached the state of Texas.  Even though it's finally and rightly now celebrated at a national level, Juneteenth has special meaning here in Texas, and especially in Austin where the first celebrations of the day were held in 1872.  Last year Juneteenth too was sadly only online, but today there's a parade in East Austin where the energy is palpable and jubilant.  Celebrate with family, friends, and take the opportunity to find and patronize Black-owned business near you!  Here's a great starting point for businesses in Austin.

TAURUS and REU Research Symposium 2019

This is long overdue, but so happy to share with you some of the pictures from the final research symposium of the 2019 TAURUS Scholars, and for the first year also UT Astronomy's REU program participants!  It was so incredible having so many scholars in town over the summer, working hard on research, preparing their research notes for publication and making beautiful posters as rough drafts for the winter AAS meeting which will be in Honolulu this year!

Because our group was so big, and we wanted to hold one joint TAURUS+REU end-of-summer extravaganza, we opted for poster presentations rather than talks as we have done in years past.  Each scholar introduced themselves in a short poster "pop" presentation and a poster session was held immediately afterward.  We had such a good turn-out and such wonderful conversations about everyone's scientific achievements!  Overall, the format worked really well and led to more interaction, so we'll be sure to use this model going forward.

After the poster session, we had some big group shots out on the roof of the 13th floor.  They look great, even though it was one of the HOTTEST days of the year, but that's how we roll here in Texas. :)

Can't wait to see everyone soon in Honolulu! Let's keep in touch!

Scholar Spotlight: Lana Elauria

The last TAURUS Scholar Spotlight of 2019 is here and it's all about Lana Elauria.  Lana joins us from CalPoly San Luis Obispo, where she is currently a senior working towards a physics major. Lana has done some research in biophysics at her home institute modeling the spread of crop disease, and is now gaining some experiences in the world of astrophysics. Lana’s project aims to identify young stars by looking for rotation in thousands of time series lightcurves from the Kepler Satellite, and then search them for transiting exoplanets.  Lana's research mentor, Dr. Aaron Rizzuto, sat down with Lana recently to learn more.


AR: What led to chose your major and what do you like about it?

LE: I have been aiming at doing a physics major since middle school, where I was inspired by a really great teacher who got me thinking about how things work. The same interest in how things work and breaking things down into models carried through into my college studies. The puzzle solving experience is something I really like, and the process-based learning often featured in physics really suits me.

AR: What led you to apply for the TAURUS program?

LE: I new I wanted to do a summer research project in a physics area, and astronomy and astrophysics was something I was interested in since I started college. Given that I was already exploring other areas of physics with research projects at my home institution, TAURUS seemed like a great move in the astronomy direction. I really wanted direct working experience in the field, so when the opportunities arose I applied to astro research summer programs, including TAURUS. I also wanted a somewhat more open ended and less directed research experience, to see how I would do in a self-sufficient working envirnment, and that seemed like a possibility with TAURUS.

AR: Who have been some inspiring mentors/role models in your life?

LE: The professors I got to work with at my home institution have really helped me build my interest in physics and science.  Dr. Stamatis Vokos and Dr. Oleg Kogan are the two professors I’ve worked closely with prior to TAURUS over the last three years, and talking to them about my experience and goals as an undergrad has been very helpful for pointing me in the right direction and keeping me aiming high.

AR: What does it mean to you to be a scientist?

LE: I’m not sure yet, I think I need more experience in the field to be able to give a specific answer to that. But generally, I think it’s to keep exploring things that you are curious about, and to always look for find new things and questions to ask.


AR: What advice would you give to high school or early undergraduate students who are interested in the science career path?

LE: Beyond a certain point it doesn’t really matter as much what grades you are getting, it matters what you do and what you’ve been a part of. Building experiences is very important.

AR: What are some of your interests outside of school and astronomy?

LE: Movies and music are the two interest that I keep going back to. I listen to lots of music and I play guitar. My parents pushed me to take guitar classes when I was 8, and I learned for a few years then stopped and forgot everything. In senior year of high school I got back into it and have been enjoying it since. I think that because these activities are not as structured and more creative they are a good alternative to the subjects that I am studying in College. I’m also on a sketch comedy team at my home institution. So really anything creative and very different from science is what I gravitate to when I’m not studying or working.

AR: What are your longer term career goals? Where do you see yourself in 5-10 years?

LE: I don’t really have an answer for that. I’m at a point right now where I’m not sure where I’ll be even two years in the future. But that’s not a bad thing, and I don’t find it discouraging. I’ve been working hard to get to this point for a long time and can take whatever path interests me from here, and the possibilities are all exciting.

Scholar Spotlight: Ariel Mora

The penultimate TAURUS Scholar Spotlight of 2019 focuses on Ariel Mora, a rising junior at Bennington College.

Ariel Mora is studying physics and astronomy in the Bennington College. Ariel has been active in research on binary stars, and he is excited about learning radio astronomy this summer working with Dr. Ya-Lin Wu. Ariel’s project focuses on determining the mass of a potentially substellar object by the Keplerian rotation in its accretion disk.  Ya-Lin recently sat down with Ariel to learn more about his passions and future goals!

YLW: What inspired you to study and pursue a career in astronomy or science in general?

AM: My physics and astronomy classes in college have been very inspiring, and have been a lot of fun for me. I also enjoyed working with my mentor in my past internship at Maria Mitchell Observatory in Massachusetts. I carried out observations of a binary star on my own, and utilized photometry to determine the rotation period.

YLW: What most excites you about doing research?

AM: What has been really exciting is having the chance to study new things that people haven't studied before and using my data to make my own conclusions.

YLW: What are your hobbies and favorite pastimes?

AM: I enjoy activities such as boxing. I created a boxing club at my college and recruited new members to join.

YLW: What values, experiences, and/or perspectives do you feel you'll bring to your next research project after TAURUS?

AM: I can bring an interest of learning. I enjoy trying to understand new ideas. I hope my experience can help in my future research. I am also lookin
g forward to more internships as I still have two years left in college.

YLW: Who have been the inspiring mentors, teachers, or role models in your life?

AM: My high school physics teacher really inspired me to continue in the field of STEM. My professor in college is really excited about his astronomy and physics classes, which also makes me excited.