More than Supernovae • Dr. Chelsea Harris
(Theoretical Astrophysics Postdoc, Michigan State University || MI USA)
“Light is so cool! Nothing you’re seeing is really how it is — even light from the sun is eight minutes behind. That idea of astronomy as time travel has captivated me for decades at this point. In astrophysics, we have this annoying but fun thing where basically all our data comes from photons, so you have to know how to interpret the light. I’m a theorist, but I work closely with observers. My real passion is using computational models to make that translation from what I consider the true heart of the physics to what we’re actually seeing from observations. In my postdoc I wanted to dive deeper into the more intense computational aspects because the tools to do the type of theoretical work I want to do, they don’t exist. I want to learn how to build them. But also it’s pretty cool to run simulations on core-collapse supernovae — to create basically a giant laser in an exploding star.
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I’d like to be a professor, to have a research group in part to improve academic culture. Students would join the group knowing everyone has committed to treating each other with respect — we’ve outlined what that means. Encouraging my students to have a support network, to learn how to be aware of their mental health — if you were to liken it to physical health, I’m trying to teach people to wash their hands so they don’t get a cold or flu that leads to something more serious. I want people to realize they’ll actually be more productive and happy if they do basic self-care. Research can become your whole life and you’re encouraged for it to become your whole life. We need to divide when are doing science, and when are we listening to a person. To acknowledge our own humanity. I think if we did this, we would be more able to facilitate a diverse group of thinkers, which would accelerate scientific progress because that progress is all about finding some new way to think about an old problem. I’m hoping we’re on the verge of a renaissance, where it isn’t the questions we’re changing, but the way people approach the questions. It’s not just about researching supernovae.”
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Dr. Chelsea Harris (Theoretical Astrophysics Postdoc, Michigan State University || MI USA)
