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Meet the 2024-2025 Board
Joseph Yeung
President
Major: Astronomy and Astrophysics; Physics, Class of 2025
Research Interest: Theoretical Cosmology and Particle Astrophysics
Favorite Class: Cosmology I (ASTR 31000): This class is the perfect introduction for anyone trying to learn the basics of cosmology necessary for starting research in the field. Under Professor Austin Joyce, we began with the historical development of cosmology and then worked toward the most recent discoveries. The second half of the class was dedicated to the quantum origin of structure in the universe, which to me is the most beautiful story nature has to offer and the focus of my current research.
Dillon Bass
Vice President
Major: Astronomy and Astrophysics; Computer Science, Class of 2025
Research Interest: Astrophotography
Favorite Class: Observational Techniques in Astrophysics; Professor Benson, a real observer who’s even been to the South Pole, taught us how to plan observations and analyze data that we took ourselves with UChicago’s remote telescope in California. It’s great to have a class dedicated to looking up and actually observing the night sky as humans have for millennia—although we’re slightly more high tech about it now.
Camila Silva
Media Manager
Major: Astronomy and Astrophysics, Class of 2025
Research Interest: Extragalactic Observational Astronomy
Favorite Class: ASTR 29001: Field Course.Under Professor Michael Gladders, I developed command line/Linux skills, enhanced my academic written and spoken communication, and analyzed lensed system candidates and stellar populations. I also conducted four nights of observations at the Magellan Telescopes in Chile, performing infrared spectroscopy and imaging of gravitationally lensed systems, which confirmed for me that I wanted to be an observational astronomer.
Zewei “Jason” Wu
Event Coordinator / Departmental Liaison
Major: Astronomy and Astrophysics, Class of 2025
Research Interest: Galaxies, Structural formation, Epoch of Reionization
Favorite Class: Computational Methods in Astrophysics (ASTR 21100)
This classic intro course, taught by the beloved Prof. Kravtsov, is one of the best introductions to computational astrophysics. The course covers key computational, statistical, and machine learning methods in modern astronomy, with a strong focus on vectorized computations using Python libraries like NumPy, SciPy, and AstroPy. Topics include N-body integration, ODE systems, numerical methods, Bayesian inference, Monte Carlo methods, and machine learning techniques such as clustering, kNN, random forests, and convolutional neural networks.
Daniel Golonka
Head Secretary
Major: Physics (Minor in Computer Science), Class of 2025
Research Interest: Astroparticle Physics
Favorite Class: Elementary Particles and Nuclei – very interesting class with funny and engaging professor (Dave Schmitz) and as long as you do the work it’s a free A; covers particle physics aspect of quantum mechanics, solving fundamental subatomic equations.
Jarvis Zhang
Chief Engineer
Major: Astronomy and Astrophysics; Mathematics, Class of 2025
Research Interest: Stars
Favorite Class: ASTR 25400: Radiation Processes in Astrophysics. This course answers some fundamental questions in astrophysics, such as how light is generated, why stars are stable (for most of their lifetime), and how Planck quantized energy from black body radiation. Professor Fausto Cattaneo gave detailed derivation of the equations including Maxwell’s equations and Lorentz transform. This course prepared me to look deeper into topics in astrophysics, such as stars and galaxies.
Olivia Lucal
Treasurer
Major: Astronomy and Astrophysics, Class of 2027
Research Interest: Planetary Science
Favorite Class: Astr 133 has been my favorite class so far because it provided a comprehensive introduction to the fascinating field of astrophysics! The course covered all the key subcategories, providing a well-rounded understanding of the subject. This broad overview was incredibly engaging and helped solidify my passion for astrophysics, confirming that this is the field I want to pursue further.
