WashU McDonnell Center for the Space Sciences

Summer research is underway at WashU!

MCSS recently welcomed undergraduate researchers from Physics and Earth, Environmental, and Planetary Sciences for a BBQ and networking event. Students had the opportunity to connect with fellow researchers and faculty, enjoy lunch from Salt + Smoke, and take a break with a little friendly competition.

We're excited to see what these talented students accomplish this summer!

🪨 Can rocks tell time?

New research by WashU graduate student Jack Qidiao and MCSS Fellow Philip Skemer suggests that repeated deformation can reset a rock's "microstructural clock."

Scientists use microscopic structures within rocks to reconstruct how Earth's interior has changed over millions of years. The findings show that cycles of deformation can erase and rebuild these structures, offering new insight into how geologic history is recorded deep within our planet.

Learn more about the study in this PNAS Journal Club feature: https://www.pnas.org/post/journal-club/cyclic-deformation-resets-rock-s-microstructural-clock



Photo by Gianluigi Marin on Unsplash

MCSS Graduate Fellow Diego Lopez Gutierrez has earned a prestigious DOE Office of Science Graduate Student Research award to advance research on one of the least understood particles in physics: the tau neutrino.

This fall, Lopez Gutierrez will conduct research at Fermilab as part of the nationally competitive SCGSR program.

Congratulations, Diego!

https://mcss.washu.edu/news/diego-lopez-gutierrez-earns-prestigious-doe-award-advance-research-elusive-tau-neutrino

Congratulations to MCSS fellow James H. Buckley, who has been named the Charles M. Hohenberg Professor of Experimental Physics at WashU Arts & Sciences.

Buckley studies gamma-ray astronomy, cosmic rays and dark matter, and has held leadership roles in major international collaborations including VERITAS, ADMX and ADAPT.

🔗 Read more: https://mcss.washu.edu/news/buckley-named-charles-m-hohenberg-professor-experimental-physics

Congratulations to our 2026 graduating students! 🎓✨

We are proud to recognize the MCSS students completing milestone degrees this year and celebrating this week at WashU’s Graduate Hooding and Recognition Ceremony.

PhD graduates:
⭐ Katie Billings
⭐ Liam Brodie
⭐ Sohee Chun
⭐ Henry Dawson
⭐ Ephraim Gau
⭐ Jonah Hoffman
⭐ Cameron Moye
⭐ Sam Patzkowsky
⭐ Pazit Rabinowitz

Master’s students:
⭐ Xuanyu Liu
⭐ Leah Morgen
⭐ Lauren Wratchford
⭐ Stephanie Zhang

It’s almost time. 🎓

The stages are set, the photo spots are ready, and commencement week is underway at WashU.

WashU has a new femtosecond laser that can remove material with extreme precision, opening new possibilities for analyzing planetary samples.

Used by Kun Wang, David Fike, and Mike Krawczynski in the isotope cosmochemistry lab, it enables analysis of tiny features in materials, including asteroid and lunar samples.

The system strengthens WashU’s ability to compete for analysis of future planetary samples.

Read more: https://mcss.washu.edu/news/seeing-smallest-details-washus-new-femtosecond-laser

WashU research on dark matter and NASA’s upcoming Roman Space Telescope is featured in St. Louis Magazine.

The story highlights work by physics professor Tansu Daylan and collaborators exploring one of the biggest mysteries in the universe.

Read more: https://www.stlmag.com/news/washu-physics-nasa-roman-dark-matter/

WashU graduate student Aaron Barrios has been awarded a National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellowship, one of the nation’s most competitive awards for graduate study in STEM.

A McDonnell Center Graduate Fellow, Barrios studies fundamental physics as part of the next generation of scientific researchers.

Read more: https://mcss.washu.edu/news/barrios-awarded-nsf-graduate-research-fellowship

Congratulations to Isabella Caffarelli, featured by WashU for her remarkable research journey from black holes to neuroscience. She has worked with MCSS Fellow Henric Krawczynski for the past three years.

From the cosmos to cognition 💫 : Isabella Caffarelli of spent years analyzing X-rays from black holes, light that traveled for thousands or even millions of years before reaching us. This summer, she's starting a new research challenge at the National Institutes of Health, where she'll help brain scientists use advanced algorithms to make sense of complex neurological data. https://bit.ly/4ndoLYX