Colloquia
TAP Colloquia
Each semester the TAP Colloquia Committee invites new speakers working across all fields of theoretical astrophysics to share their current research. Along with providing a one-hour colloquium, each speaker also meets with faculty and students while on campus to discuss research more in depth. The TAP Colloquia series offers 5-6 talks on a bi-weekly basis. The goal of this program activity is to bring scholars to the UA campus to discuss new research, support shared research efforts and cross-fertilization, and increase awareness and communication across the broader U.S. community working in theoretical astrophysics.
Do you have a speaker in mind? Submit your suggestions here Speaker Suggestion Form. Sign-up here for the TAP listserv to receive details for each upcoming talk.
Colloquia are held in person in the Gerard P. Kuiper Space Sciences Building, Room 312, Mondays, 3:30-4:30 pm. Please join us for refreshments starting at 3:00 pm in the Kuiper 3rd Floor Atrium. Talks are hosted live on Zoom (see a link to subscribe below).
Fall 2024 Speakers
Monday, September 9, 2024
“Meet Yourself” Event
Showcasing Speakers from Astronomy, Physics, and Planetary Sciences Departments at the University of Arizona
Line-up
1. Jonah Barber, Physics: “Cosmological Stasis, and New Perspectives on It”
2. Aldana Grichener, Astronomy: “Formation of the Heaviest Elements in the Universe in Neutron Star– core mergers”
3. Anna Taylor, Planetary Sciences: “Modeling the He I Triplet Absorption at 10830 Å and H I Balmer Lines in the Hot Escaping Atmosphere of HD209458b”
4. Himansh Rathore, Astronomy: “Response of the LMC’s Bar to a Recent SMC Collision and Implications for the SMC’s Total Mass Profile”
5. M Smith, Physics: “Zoom-Whirl Behavior and Near-Extremal Merger Remnants in Relativistic Mergers of Charged Black Hole Binaries”
6. Jingyu Wang, Planetary Sciences: “Interpreting the Cosmic Rorschach Test on Venus Using Photochemical Model”
Rescheduled for February 17, 2025
Dr. Yangyang Cai, Shanghai Jiao Tong University and the 2024 TAP Research Prize Winner
Yangyang is the 2024 TAP Research Prize Awardee for his paper on “Dynamics of Ultra-relativistic Charged Particles with Strong Radiation Reaction. II. Aristotelian Equilibrium State.” Yangyang Cai received is Ph.D. in Physics in 2023; his advisor was Dr. Sam Gralla.
I’m currently a postdoc at Tsung-Dao Lee Institute of Shanghai Jiao Tong University. I got my bachelor’s degree at Nankai University in China, studying physics. I got my PhD degree at the University of Arizona, studying theoretical astrophysics. During my PhD studies, I mainly focused on extreme electromagnetic fields around black holes such as force-free fields. Recently I have switched from analytic to numeric simulations. I am mainly interested in simulating plasmas around compact objects like black holes and neutron stars using Particle-In-Cell simulations
October 14, 2024
Dr. Shazrene Mohamed, University of Virginia
Dr. Shazrene S. Mohamed is a professor of Astronomy at the University of Virginia. Her research focuses on supercomputer simulations of interacting stars and their explosions. Prior to moving to Charlottesville, she spent two years as an Argelander Research Fellow at the University of Bonn in Germany, followed by a decade at the South African Astronomical Observatory and the University of Cape Town in South Africa. She was also a Rhodes Scholar at the University of Oxford, where she earned her PhD in astrophysics.
November 4, 2024
Dr. Nicholas Wogan, NASA Ames Research Center
Nick Wogan is a 2nd year postdoctoral fellow at NASA Ames Research Center, where he uses atmospheric models to interpret observations of exoplanets with the James Webb Space Telescope. Nick received his PhD at the University of Washington (UW), where he used the same atmospheric models to study the early Earth atmospheres to aid understanding of the origin of life.
November 18, 2024
Dr. Sultan Hassan, New York University
Sultan’s research focuses on developing more accurate physically motivated sub-grid models of ionizing sources to unravel the nature of reionization on small and large scales. He is interested in developing efficient tools that are capable of extracting the maximum amount of information from current and future reionization surveys, using a wide range of techniques including semi-analytical/semi-numerical models, radiative transfer hydrodynamics simulations with machine learning, and Bayesian inference.
December 2, 2024
Dr. Ann-Marie Madigan, University of Colorado Boulder
Dr. Ann-Marie Madigan is a theoretical astrophysicist who explores the dynamics of stars and gas around supermassive black holes, dark matter in galaxies, and the icy worlds of the outer solar system. She is an Associate Professor in the Astrophysical and Planetary Sciences Department at the University of Colorado, Boulder.
Previous Speakers
- Spring 2024
- Fall 2023
- Spring 2023
- Spring 2022
- Fall 2022
- Spring 2021
- Fall 2021
- Fall 2020
- Spring 2020
- Fall 2019
- Spring 2019
- Fall 2018
- Spring 2018
- Fall 2017
- Spring 2017
- Fall 2016
- Spring 2016
- Fall 2015
- Spring 2015
- Fall 2014
- Spring 2013
- Fall 2012
Floor Broekgaarden | Columbia University, CCA, John Hopkins University | January 22, 2024 |
William Coulton | University of Cambridge | February 5, 2024 |
Ana Lobo | University of California Irvine | February 19, 2024 |
Gil Holder | University of Illinois Urbana – Champaign | March 11, 2024 |
Joonas Nättilä | Columbia University, CCA | March 25, 2024 |
Trevor Dorn-Wallenstein | Carnegie Observatories | April 8, 2024 |
Vera Gluscevic | University of Southern California | April 22, 2024 |
TAP “MEET YOURSELF” EVENT | University of Arizona | August 28, 2023 |
Haowen Zhang | University of Arizona | September 11, 2023 |
Yao-Yuan Mao | University of Utah | September 25, 2023 |
Kaze Wong | Flatiron Institute – CCA | October 23, 2023 |
Neil Cornish | Montana State University | November 6, 2023 |
Alexander Philippov | University of Maryland | November 20, 2023 |
TAP “MEET YOURSELF” EVENT | University of Arizona | January 30, 2023 |
Mikhail Ivanov | Hubble, Institute for Advanced Study | February 20, 2023 |
Brian Metzger | Columbia University | February 27, 2023 |
Martin Pessah | Niels Bohr Institute | March 13, 2023 |
Jorge Moreno Soto | Pomona College | March 27, 2023 |
Caroline Morley | University of Texas – Austin | April 10, 2023 |
Susan Clark | Stanford University | April 24, 2023 |
February 14, 2022
Rebekah Dawson, Penn State
February 28, 2022
Alexander van Engelen, Arizona State
March 14, 2022
Luca Comisso, Columbia University
March 28, 2022
Ferah Munshi, University of Oklahoma
April 11, 2022
Michi Baubock, University of Illinois
April 25, 2022
Kimberly Boddy, University of Texas
Gabriele Bozzola | University of Arizona | August 29, 2022 |
Tanvi Karwal | University of Pennsylvania | September 12, 2022 |
Saverio Cambioni | Massachusetts Institute of Technology | October 3, 2022 |
Michael Kesden | University of Texas – Dallas | October 24, 2022 |
Emily Cunningham | Columbia University | November 7, 2022 |
Miki Nakajima | University of Rochester | November 21, 2022 |
Seth Jacobson | Michigan State University | April 9, 2021 |
Nicolas Garavito-Camargo | Flatiron, CCA | September 27, 2021 |
Jimmy Juno | University of Iowa | October 11, 2021 |
Xiangcheng Ma | University of Arizona | November 8, 2021 |
Darin Ragozzine | Brigham Young University | November 22, 2021 |
Emily Lichko | University of Arizona | September 14, 2020 |
Oliver Gressel | AIP, Leibniz Institute fr Astrophysics Potsdam | October 5, 2020 |
Jens Jasche | Stockholm University | October 19, 2020 |
Debora Sijacki | Cambridge Institute of Astronomy | November 2, 2020 |
Barbara Ercolano | Max Planck Research School on Astrophysics at the Ludwig Maximilians University Munich | November 30, 2020 |
Fred Adams | University of Michigan | January 27, 2020 |
Nicole Lloyd-Ronning | Los Alamos National Laboratory | February 10, 2020 |
Antonija Oklopcic | Center for Astrophysics | Harvard & Smithsonian | February 24, 2020 |
Andreu Font-Ribera | University College London | March 16, 2020 |
Colby Haggarty | University of Chicago | April 27, 2020 |
Ruth Murray-Clay |
Univ. of California Santa Cruz | September 9, 2019 |
Hagai Perets | Technion Israel Institute of Technology | September 23, 2019 |
Kat Volk | University of Arizona | October 7, 2019 |
Marco Raveri | University of Pennsylvania | October 21, 2019 |
Matthew Kunz | Princeton University | November 4, 2019 |
David Nesvorny | Southwest Research Institute- Boulder | November 18, 2019 |
Camille Avestruz | University of Michigan | December 2, 2019 |
Yacine Ali-Haïmoud |
New York University | January 14, 2019 |
Kyle Parfrey | NASA Goddard Space Flight Center | February 11, 2019 |
Ken Shen | University of California- Berkeley | February 25, 2019 |
Kent Yagi | University of Virginia | March 11, 2019 |
Joshua Lothringer | University of Arizona – TAP Student Research Prize Recipient | April 1, 2019 |
Eve Lee | Caltech | April 15, 2019 |
Yanqin Wu | University of Toronto | April 29, 2019 |
Jia Liu |
Princeton | September 17, 2018 |
Konstantin Batygin | CalTech | October 1, 2018 |
Shea Garrison-Kimmel | CalTech | October 15, 2018 |
Monica Valluri | University of Michigan | October 29, 2018 |
Gil Holder | University of Illinois | November 19, 2018 |
Enrico Ramirez-Ruiz | University of California- Santa Cruz | December 3, 2018 |
Kathryn Johnston | Columbia University | February 19, 2018 |
Jim Stone | Princeton University | March 12, 2018 |
Graciela Gelmini | UCLA | March 19, 2018 |
Rachel Somerville | Rutgers University | March 26, 2018 |
Aaron Zimmerman | University of Toronto | April 9, 2018 |
Emily Rauscher | University of Michigan | April 23, 2018 |
Sarah Stewart-Mukhopadhyay | UC Davis | August 28, 2017 |
Daniel Tamayo | University of Toronto | September 11, 2017 |
Chris Hayward | Flatiron Institute | October 2, 2017 |
Annika Peter | Ohio State University | October 16, 2017 |
Renee Hlozek | University of Toronto | November 27, 2017 |
Jim Fuller | Caltech | December 4, 2017 |
David Radice | Princeton | March 20, 2017 |
Elisabeth Krause | Stanford | March 24, 2017 |
Matt Hedman | Cornell | March 27, 2017 |
Simeon Bird | JHU | March 30, 2017 |
Vassilios Paschalidis | Princeton | April 10, 2017 |
Zhaohuan Zhu | UNLV | April 14, 2017 |
Gongjie Lie | Harvard | April 17, 2017 |
Ann-Marie Madigan | Berkley | September 26, 2016 |
Alexandre Lazarian | U of Wisconsin-Madison | October 10, 2016 |
Francis Nimmo | U California, Santa Cruz | October 24, 2016 |
Laura Blecha | U Maryland, College Park | November 7, 2016 |
Will East | Perimeter Institute | November 21, 2016 |
Andy Strominger | Harvard | January 25, 2016 |
Robin Canup | Southwest Research Institute | February 22, 2016 |
Jerry Sellwood | Rutgers U | February 1, 2016 |
Matthew Baring | Rice University (Houston) | March 7, 2016 |
Myoungwon Jeon | U of Texas | March 21, 2016 |
Ewine Van Dishoeck | April 4, 2016 | |
Tracy Slatyer | MIT | April 11, 2016 |
Adam Showman | University of Arizona | September 14, 2015 |
Jeremy Heyl | U of British Colombia | September 28, 2015 |
Dimitrios Psaltis | University of Arizona | October 12, 2015 |
Norbert Wex | Max Planck Institute for Radioastronomie | October 26, 2015 |
Eliot Quataert | UC Berkeley | November 9, 2015 |
Diego Munoz | Cornell University | November 23, 2015 |
Tessa Baker | Oxford University | December 7, 2015 |
Jonathan Mitchell | UCLA | February 9, 2015 |
Cameron Hummels | UA | February 23, 2015 |
Eliot Quataert | Berkeley | March 9, 2015 |
Cathie Clarke | IoA, UK | March 23, 2015 |
Smadar Naoz | UCLA | April 6, 2015 |
Norbert Wex | MPIfR Germany | April 20, 2015 |
Cora Dvorkin | Harvard | April 27, 2015 |
Evan Scannapieco | ASU | October 6, 2014 |
Nick Cowen | Amherst College | October 20, 2014 |
Phil Armitage | U of Colorado, Boulder | November 3, 2014 |
Priya Natarayanan | Yale | November 17, 2014 |
Evan Schneider | UA Astronomy | December 8, 2014 |
Name | Affiliation | Date |
Peter Behroozi | Stanford | January 14, 2013 |
Konstantin Batygin | Caltech GPS | January 28, 2013 |
David Arnet | UA | February 4, 2013 |
Charlie Conroy | UCSC | March 4, 2013 |
Lars Hernquist | Harvard | March 18, 2013 |
Yoram Lithwick | Northwestern | April 1, 2013 |
Zhi-Yun Li | Univ of Virginia | April 22, 2013 |
Herve Dole | ? | April 29, 2013 |
Name | Affilation | Date |
Adam Burrows | Princeton | September 10, 2012 |
Doug Lin | UC Santa Cruz | October 8, 2012 |
Rebekah Dawson | Harvard-Smithsonian Ctr for Astrophysics | October 22, 2012 |
Eugene Chiang | Berkeley | October 29, 2012 |
Charlie Conroy | UC Santa Cruz | November 5, 2012 |
Phil Arras | Univ of Virginia | November 19, 2012 |
Mark Vogelsberger | CfA | December 3, 2012 |
Siming Liu | Purple Mountain Observatory | December 10, 2012 |