jsuarez

What is your position or role in the DESI project?
I am one of the early career scientists using the data from DESI and other telescopes to derive interesting results about our Universe!

Where were you born?
Santiago, Chile

Where do you live now?
California, USA

What do you do as part of DESI?
I am currently leading one of the kinematic Sunyaev Zel’dovich measurements using DESI galaxies and the Cosmic Microwave Background map from the Atacama Cosmology Telescope.

Galaxies have a gaseous halo surrounding them, which is challenging to observe. Creative and prolific scientists like Rashid Sunyaev and Yakov B. Zeldovich suggested that it is possible to see it by studying the effect this produces in a background light. There is a perfect candidate to be this background, which is the Cosmic Microwave Background. This is a relic and smooth source of light at microwave frequencies, emitted when the Universe was 380,000 years old! A way of visualizing this effect is to think of galaxies as part of a shadow theater, where the Cosmic Microwave Background illuminates the scenario from the back. There is an additional thing to mention: if these galaxies were steady, this effect would not be as powerful as it could be. Luckily, galaxies have what we call “peculiar velocities”, meaning they move on top of the expansion of the Universe. When combining the velocities of galaxies and the  Cosmic Microwave Background, we can study the gas of galaxies. This is the kinematic Sunyaev Zel’dovich effect!

What is the most interesting or exciting thing about your job?
What I found extremely interesting from my job as a graduate student is that my meetings are about discussing fundamental physics and ideas of the Universe, as I always dreamed of.

Any advice for an aspiring scientist?
To aspiring scientists I would recommend them to learn English as much as they can in their earlier careers. As a non-native speaker I have been on multiple occasions in which I do not understand what people are asking/answering. I also want to tell them it is okay to ask if something is not clear!

What do you do for fun?
I like taking analog pictures and developing them in a darkroom. I also love doing scientific outreach and using social media to spread scientific knowledge.

If you weren’t a scientist, what would be your dream job?
I would have loved to be an actress or a philosopher.

What excites/interests you most about DESI?
It is incredible to think how many galaxies it has detected in such a short time! The first results are already astonishing. I am so impressed we can see so deep into the past of our Universe just by looking from Earth.

What is your position or role in the DESI project?
I’m a postdoctoral research fellow working on finding and studying the long-term properties of tidal disruption events. You can think of this as listening for the echoing screams of a star being torn apart by a black hole it has had the misfortune of drifting too close to! In reality it’s about finding the specific pattern of light these events leave in the spectrum of the galaxy in which they happen. As part of this work, I’m a member of the ‘Transients and Low-Redshift Cosmology’ and ‘Galaxy and Quasar Physics’ working groups and am co-lead of the QSO/AGN Topical Group, helping to co-ordinate broader work looking into what the supermassive black holes at the centre of galaxies get up to.

Where were you born?
I was born in the Northern Irish town of Ballymena and whilst I might have left, I carry the accent with me.

Where do you live now?
I currently live in Portsmouth on the south coast of England close to the University of Portsmouth where I’m part of the Institute of Cosmology and Gravitation.

What do you do as part of DESI?
My day-to-day is a mixture of different things. It can be looking through the spectra of galaxies that might contain the signature of an ongoing tidal disruption event to discover and classify new events. I might also use DESI data to follow-up on existing events to see how they have evolved and what that can tell us about them. I also do a lot of computer coding to search for the most interesting objects -with the millions of spectra DESI gathers no one can look through them all! – and to process the data to learn as much as possible both from individual objects and what they can reveal as a group.

As a Topical Group co-ordinator, I also have a role in making sure those of us working on supermassive black holes are aware of what is being worked on by others in DESI so we can learn from each other and move forward as efficiently as possible.

What is the most interesting or exciting thing about your job?
As the objects I investigate are so far off into the universe, it takes their light a very, very long time to reach us here on Earth. So, in a way it’s like using a time machine, as what DESI picks up from the galaxy ‘now’ is from a time long before dinosaurs roamed the Earth. As my research focuses on individual events, what they can tell us about the galaxies they occurred in and the physical processes that drive some of the most extreme events in the universe, it’s like being a time traveling accident investigator which I think is pretty cool.

What excites/interests you most about DESI?
DESI is collecting a truly monumental amount of data, with spectra for millions of galaxies. With a dataset like this we are able to learn a lot more about the rarest types of galaxy, performing studies that just aren’t possible using the small numbers of such objects that have been discovered by chance up to this point. It also goes without saying that with so many galaxies being explored, we are bound to discover things we didn’t even know to look for!

Any advice for an aspiring scientist?
I think my two pieces of advice would be:

1) Get as much experience with computer coding as you can. Science and coding are very tightly linked and the more experience you have the easier you will find it to take on new problems. It’s also not as daunting to learn as you might think, and the satisfaction of getting a new piece of code working makes all the challenges worth it.

2) Believe in yourself – there isn’t one path to success. If you have a goal in mind there can be multiple ways to get there and feel free to reach out to people in the field, I’m sure they will be happy to offer advice and support.

What do you do for fun?
I’m an avid RPG and strategy gamer with ‘Starfield’ and ‘Stellaris’ being a couple of my go-to’s, with Pokémon having a strong grip on me as well. I find spending time with my friends at a local pub or restaurant is an excellent way to unwind after a busy week. There is also little better than curling up with a cup of tea and watching a good movie or TV program – ‘House of the Dragon’ and ‘The Traitors’ being my current favourites.

If you weren’t a scientist, what would be your dream job?
Now that’s a tough one. Being an astronomer has been my dream job since I was about four years old so I’d have to go with a veterinarian.

What is your position or role in the DESI project?
I am the co-leads of the absorber topical group and used to serve on the Early-Career-Scientists committee.

Where were you born?
I was born in Hunan, China.

Where do you live now?
I live in Beijing now.

What is the most interesting or exciting thing about your job?
Always seek new knowledge, identify new objects, and interpret their originality.

What do you do as part of DESI?
As the co-leads of the absorber topical group, I help coordinate related science projects and strengthen communication between the quasar-galaxy physics working group and the Lya working group. As a researcher, I worked on quasar and galaxy science projects, analyzed DESI data, and contributed to DESI’s observation and outreach activities (please see the DESI planetarium film)!

Any advice for an aspiring scientist?
Stay curious and chat with people in all fields.

What do you do for fun?
Sports, music (playing the Erhu, a Chinese classical instrument, and having limited skills on the guitar 🙂 and traveling.

If you weren’t a scientist, what would be your dream job?
Astronaut or architect.

What excites/interests you most about DESI?
Mapping the universe with the most details (especially stars and galaxies!)

What is your position or role in the DESI project?
I am an Early Career Scientist (ECS) working mainly as a part of the Data, Education and Public Outreach, and Galaxy and Quasar Physics Working Groups. Currently, I co-lead the Anomaly Detection Topical Group.

 Where were you born and Where do you live now?
I was born in Bogotá, the capital city of Colombia, South America, and I currently live there.

What do you do as part of DESI?
In DESI, my Ph.D. work involves using machine and deep learning techniques with DESI observation data. I contribute to the Data Working Group by developing an algorithm based on unsupervised machine learning to identify anomaly spectra in DESI observations. This technique is valuable for the reduction pipeline to identify outliers related to instrumental errors or new physics. Additionally, I work on predicting physical features of galaxies, such as Redshift, using photometric and spectroscopic data to train deep learning models. I’m also involved in characterizing the distribution of bright galaxies z<∼0.5 into the Dark Matter cosmic web.

What is the most interesting or exciting thing about your job?
The most interesting aspect of my job is the fusion of new technologies with physics. The constant innovation in technology provides exciting tools, gadgets, and algorithms that, when combined with physics, create an amazing synergy.

Any advice for an aspiring scientist?
Be creative. Maintain your love for science and nurture your creativity; they are essential engines for contributing to science and humanity.

What do you do for fun?
For fun, I enjoy exploring different cuisines, experimenting with recipes. Occasionally, I practice photography and painting, even though I’m not a professional.

If you weren’t a scientist, what would be your dream job?
If I weren’t a scientist, my dream job would be a Chef, specializing in various cuisines, or an artist focusing on the intersection of art and technology.

What excites/interests you most about DESI?
What excites me the most about DESI is the enormous amount of data to be observed, the scale and resolution of these observations are impressive, and everything hidden behind this data is intriguing. Being part of this collaboration brings me immense happiness.

 

What is your position or role in the DESI project?
I am a 4th year PhD student working in the Milky Way Survey (MWS) group. I am also the co-chair of Early Career Scientists (ECS) committee and one of the organizers of DESI research forum talks.

Where were you born and Where do you live now?
I was born in Kerala, a South Indian state renowned for its swaying coconut palms, pristine backwaters, and vibrant festivals. After my masters in Bangalore, India, I moved to Taiwan where I am currently doing my PhD at the National Tsing Hua University.

What do you do as part of DESI?
I work on generating mock catalogues that match the selection criteria of MWS from high resolution AURIGA cosmological zoom simulations. These mocks are realizations of a DESI-like survey conducted in a simulated Milky Way – like galaxy, and can be used to test methods for studying the properties of our stellar halo, the substructures in it and finally, the assembly history of our Galaxy. Besides working on my project, I also organize research forum talks, help with ECS activities and take Support Observer shifts for DESI.

What is the most interesting or exciting thing about your job?
Astronomy allows us to explore the unknown. Every observation is a small step towards understanding something new, something unique about our Universe. Within this infinite Universe, my love lies closer to home. I am excited to study how our Galaxy formed, its structure and its evolutionary history. Being part of a large collaboration, using a very sophisticated instrument, working with people I admire, someone I have known from the classes I took, or papers I have read is more than exciting.

Any advice for an aspiring scientist?
Never give up on anything you love because of anyone. There will be a lot of ups and downs on the way, but it is all part of a learning process. Talk to people in all career stages, it builds up communication skills, helps in making new collaborations or guide you when you are in need. Always stay updated with what is happening in your field. Enjoy every small thing you learn. Most importantly, prioritize your physical and mental health above everything else.
What do you do for fun?
There are five things I enjoy spending time for: hanging out with people I am close to, having food (and watching others cook), a good movie, travel (anywhere other than crowded cities filled with concrete buildings) and music. I love to read books, blogging and photography, all of which are unfortunately taking a back seat lately.

If you weren’t a scientist, what would be your dream job?
Being an astronomer has always been my love. But if not that, social work has been something that has captured my interest (I have had an eye on the social work program of the Tata Institute of Social Sciences in India since a long time).

What excites/interests you most about DESI?
I am someone who was born in a small village, studied in a modest school, enjoyed colorful pictures of stars and galaxies, dream about being an astronomer, and today, as a member of DESI, I interact and collaborate with people who have made enormous contributions to this field. There is nothing more exciting than a dream come true.

 

What is your position or role in the DESI project?
I have only recently joined the DESI project. I am very interested to contribute to the synergy between DESI and the  large upcoming space-based surveys in the infrared such as Euclid, SPHEREx and the surveys with the Roman Space Telescope. I would also be excited to serve on the Publication Board, to which I can bring my extensive experience as Associate Editor for PASA.

Where were you born?
In Rimnicu Vilcea, Romania, which is a town just below the Carpathian Mountains.

Where do you live now?
I live in Durham, which is in the North East of England, and home to the beautiful Durham Cathedral.

What do you do as part of DESI?
Since I have only recently joined, I am still navigating my way around in this very large collaboration, trying to understand the different activities to which I could sensibly contribute. My expertise is in optical and near-IR spectroscopy of AGN and the study of their inner structure using time-domain astronomy. I eagerly follow the many publications coming out of the project and hope to be able to join meetings soon. But, unfortunately, it is too late for me to make travel arrangements to come to the DESI meeting in Hawaii in December.

What is the most interesting or exciting thing about your job?
The most exciting thing about being an astronomer is that no day is like the other. The job might get frustrating at times, but it surely is never boring. If I have a new idea on what I would like to research and publish, I can just do it.

Any advice for an aspiring scientist?
For an answer I would like to quote from Max Weber, a German sociologist, who wrote in “Science as a vocation” (1917): ” … Do you in all conscience believe that you can stand seeing mediocrity after mediocrity, year after year, climb beyond you, without becoming embittered and without coming to grief? Naturally, one always receives the answer: ‘Of course, I live only for my “calling.” ‘ Yet, I have found that only a few men could endure this situation without coming to grief. …”

What do you do for fun?
I like to spend time with my children. Listening to their views and ideas and seeing their need to express themselves in art is fascinating.

If you weren’t a scientist, what would be your dream job?
I cannot imagine myself not being a scientist.  I find that it is most rewarding and exhilarating to discover for the first time even the smallest part of Nature’s hidden secrets.

What excites/interests you most about DESI?
I am excited about DESI’s possibility to measure the neutrino masses. But, of course, the possibility that we might soon have a satisfactory answer to the profound question of the nature of Dark Energy, which will come from DESI but also from other facilities working towards it, such as Euclid and LSST, makes me think that we live in historic times!

What is your position or role in the DESI project?
I am currently a postdoctoral researcher at National Taiwan University, where I lead a project within the Galaxy Quasar Physics Working Group and the Absorbers Topical Group. The project aims to study the circumgalactic medium (CGM) of massive radio galaxies using DESI spectra.

Where were you born?
I was born in Taipei City and grew up in Taoyuan City, Taiwan.

Where do you live now?
Currently, I live in Taipei, Taiwan. Taipei is the economic and cultural hub of Taiwan, seamlessly blends modern urbanity with a rich historical heritage.

What do you do as part of DESI?
I am using DESI quasar spectra to investigate the impacts of radio-mode feedback on the CGM by analyzing the absorption lines in the spectra. By studying the properties of CGMs, we could understand how the feedback affects the gas around galaxies and regulate the growth of massive galaxies. I am also a member of the DEI committee within DESI. The DEI committee is dedicated to combating the marginalization of underrepresented minorities, addressing issues having to do with inclusion within the collaboration.

What is the most interesting or exciting thing about your job?
Exploring the mysteries of the universe is the most exciting part of my job, as it involves answering scientific questions that have intrigued us for a long time and constantly learning new things. I always enjoy discussing scientific topics and interacting with other astronomers.

Any advice for an aspiring scientist?
Enjoy what you are doing. Not everyone may comprehend or appreciate your research topic, but if it’s something you’re truly passionate about, just go for it.

What do you do for fun?
I enjoy swimming and biking, engaging in these activities weekly. On weekends, I like to spend time with friends and family, like going shopping, having afternoon tea, and watching movies. Additionally, I have a passion for traveling, exploring the unique characteristics of different cities and cultures worldwide.

If you weren’t a scientist, what would be your dream job?
I have a wide range of interests. With my proficiency in teaching math—having served as a math tutor throughout college and graduate school—I might be teaching math if I hadn’t become an astronomer. Beyond my scientific pursuits, I am fascinated by history and diplomacy. If I had chosen to major in international relations, I could have pursued a career as a diplomat.

What excites/interests you most about DESI?
DESI is expected to observe tens of millions of galaxies in the coming years, providing an extensive dataset for in-depth studies of their statistical properties. Moreover, DESI is able to observe fainter and more extreme galaxies than any other contemporary surveys. Exciting new scientific discoveries are certain to emerge from the wealth of data generated by the DESI survey.