# News

**Source**: https://astronomy.fas.harvard.edu/news
**Parent**: https://astronomy.fas.harvard.edu/undergraduate-program

[### Harvard Astronomy grad Sophia Ridolfo awarded Chambliss Astronomy Achievement Award Honorable Mention](/news/2026/01/harvard-astronomy-grad-sophia-ridolfo-awarded-chambliss-astronomy-achievement-award)

January 29, 2026

Harvard Astronomy grad Sophia Ridolfo was awarded a Chambliss Astronomy Achievement Award Honorable Mention for her AAS247 poster research presentation ( [https://aas.org/posts/news/2026/01/congratulations-aas-247-chambliss-st…](https://aas.org/posts/news/2026/01/congratulations-aas-247-chambliss-student-award-winners) ). Sophia...

[### Jennifer Bergner delivers Bok Prize Lecture](/news/2026/01/jennifer-bergner-delivers-bok-prize-lecture)

January 27, 2026

Jennifer Bergner , Assistant Professor in Chemistry at UC Berkeley, delivered the Bok Prize Lecture on "The icy origins of planetary systems ," on January 27, 2026. Kenzie Bok, the great-granddaughter of Bart J. Bok, represented the Bok family and...

[### Ashley Villar wins RCSA Awards!](/news/2026/01/ashley-villar-wins-rcsa-awards)

January 15, 2026

Congratulations to Astronomy Assistant Professor Ashley Villar for winning two RSCA Awards: Bridge Award: Support for “Luminous Supernovae in the Rubin Era” research. The Bridge Award is for universities disrupted by federal policy changes. Scialog Award...

[### Lars Hernquist receives the AAS 2026 Henry Norris Russell Lectureship](/news/2026/01/lars-hernquist-receives-aas-2026-henry-norris-russell-lectureship)

January 08, 2026

Lars Hernquist, Mallinckrodt Professor of Astrophysics at Harvard, received the 2026 Henry Norris Russell Lectureship at the AAS 247 conference in January 2026. The honor celebrates a career of eminence in astronomical research, for a lifetime of...

[### Andrew Vanderburg Receives AAS 2025 Newton Lacy Pierce Prize in Astronomy](/news/2026/01/andrew-vanderburg-receives-aas-2025-newton-lacy-pierce-prize-astronomy)

January 08, 2026

Andrew Vanderburg, Assistant Professor of Astronomy at Harvard University, was awarded the AAS 2025 Newton Lacy Pierce Prize in Astronomy during the AAS 247 conference in January 2026. His research focuses on studying exoplanets, or planets which orbit...

[### On Behalf of DESI, Daniel Eisenstein Receives 2026 Lancelot M. Berkeley–New York Community Trust Prize for Meritorious Work in Astronomy](/news/2026/01/behalf-desi-daniel-eisenstein-receives-2026-lancelot-m-berkeley-new-york-community)

January 08, 2026

On Behalf of DESI, Harvard Astronomy Professor Daniel Eisenstein Receives 2026 Lancelot M. Berkeley–New York Community Trust Prize for Meritorious Work in Astronomy The Dark Energy Spectroscopic Instrument (DESI) collaboration is an international...

[### Ray Jayawardhana (Harvard Astronomy PhD 2000) named President of Caltech](/news/2026/01/ray-jayawardhana-harvard-astronomy-phd-2000-named-president-caltech)

January 06, 2026

Congratulations to Ray Jayawardhana (Harvard Astronomy PhD 2000) who was named President of the California Institute of Technology, to start in summer 2026. In his current position he serves as Provost and Professor of Physics and Astronomy at Johns...

[### Emily Pass (Astronomy Ph.D. 2024) named Forbes "30 Under 30"](/news/2025/12/emily-pass-astronomy-phd-2024-named-forbes-30-under-30)

December 02, 2025

Congratulations to Emily Pass (Astronomy Ph.D. 2024) for being named a Forbes "30 Under 30." Emily studies exoplanets and small stars as a Torres Postdoctoral Fellow for Exoplanet Research at MIT.

[### Astrophysics Concentrator's Lunch Fall 2025](/news/2025/10/astrophysics-concentrators-lunch-fall-2025)

October 06, 2025

The Astrophysics Concentrators enjoyed lunch with our faculty on Friday, October 3rd. The scientific exchanges were stimulating, and a bit of fun was shared by all.

description

[### Astronomy Professor Charlie Conroy is finalist for Blavatnik Awards for Young Scientists](/news/2025/09/astronomy-professor-charlie-conroy-finalist-blavatnik-awards-young-scientists)

September 11, 2025

Astronomy professor Charlie Conroy is a finalist for the 2025 Blavatnik Awards for Young Scientists. Charlie Conroy, professor of astronomy, was recognized for his research on our galaxy’s formation and how the distribution of dark matter is related to...

[### Astronomy Senior Trip 2025](/news/2025/09/astronomy-senior-trip-2025)

September 04, 2025

Doug Finkbeiner and Allyson Bieryla led 8 undergraduate concentrators on the annual Astronomy Senior Trip. Some highlights from this year's trip to Hawaii were telescope tours of the SMA on Mauna Kea and Pan-STARRS on Haleakala, a trip to Volcano National...

[### Arielle Frommer (Harvard, 2025) receives a Chambliss Astronomy Achievement Student Award!](/news/2025/07/arielle-frommer-harvard-2025-receives-chambliss-astronomy-achievement-student-award)

July 07, 2025

Arielle Frommer (Harvard, 2025) received a Chambliss Astronomy Achievement Student Award at the 246th American Astronomical Society conference in Alaska! [https://aas.org/posts/news/2025/06/congratulations-aas-246-chambliss-st…](https://aas.org/posts/news/2025/06/congratulations-aas-246-chambliss-student-award-winners) Her senior...

[### Vedant Chandra awarded the Price Prize from OSU CCAPP in Cosmology and Astrophysics!](/news/2025/06/vedant-chandra-awarded-price-prize-osu-ccapp-cosmology-and-astrophysics)

June 04, 2025

The Astronomy Department congratulates fifth year grad student on being awarded the Price Prize from OSU CCAPP (Center for Cosmology and AstroParticle Physics) in Cosmology and Astrophysics! Chandra’s research bridges observations, simulations, and...

[### Astronomy Class of 2025 GSAS Graduates](/news/2025/05/astronomy-class-2025-gsas-graduates)

May 30, 2025

The Astronomy Department congratulates our 2025 Class of doctoral graduates The Astronomy Department congratulates our 2025 Class of doctoral graduates Minjung Park, Claire Lamman, Mirand Eiben, Angus Beane, Mykhail (Misha) Rashkovetskyi, and Carlos...

[### Astrophysics concentrators elected to Phi Beta Kappa](/news/2025/05/astrophysics-concentrators-elected-phi-beta-kappa)

May 27, 2025

The Astronomy Department is pleased to announce that two graduating Astrophysics concentrators have been elected to Phi Beta Kappa: Ellie Griffin (double concentration with MCB) and Caleb Painter. We wish them the best in their academic futures! Read more...

description

[### Jiwon (Jesse) Han wins the 2025 ITC Keto Prize](/news/2025/05/jiwon-jesse-han-wins-2025-itc-keto-prize)

May 21, 2025

The Astronomy Department congratulates Jiwon (Jesse) Han for winning the 2025 Keto Prize from the ITC for the thesis "The Galactic Halo in Stars and Shadows" (Advisor: Charlie Conroy). The Eric R. Keto Prize for Graduate Students in Theoretical...

[### Xingang Chen awarded the Anya Bernstein Bassett Prize for Excellence in Teaching](/news/2025/05/xingang-chen-awarded-anya-bernstein-bassett-prize-excellence-teaching)

May 19, 2025

Congratulations go out to Xingang Chen, who has been awarded the Anya Bernstein Bassett Prize for Excellence in Teaching, which recognizes outstanding undergraduate teaching by non-ladder faculty.

[### Kane Sjoberg ’25 and Hannah Burrows ’26 win Goldberg Prize](/news/2025/05/kane-sjoberg-25-and-hannah-burrows-26-win-goldberg-prize)

May 15, 2025

The Astronomy Department is pleased to award the 2025 Goldberg Prizes, honoring the best senior and junior Astronomy theses, to Kane Sjoberg ’25 and Hannah Burrows ’26. Senior Kane Sjoberg was honored for the thesis “PANDORA: New avenues in sub-percent...

[### Claire Lamman (GSAS, ’25) wins the 2025 Fireman Fellowship](/news/2025/05/claire-lamman-gsas-25-wins-2025-fireman-fellowship)

May 15, 2025

The Astronomy Department is pleased to award the 2025 Fireman Fellowship to Claire Lamman (GSAS, ’25), who was honored for the thesis "Untangling the Cosmic Web: Cosmology in the connections between galaxies and the large-scale structure of the Universe"...

[### Logan Wilson (Harvard '26) wins best poster at the Astronomy 205 class poster presentations in April 2025](/news/2025/04/logan-wilson-harvard-26-wins-best-poster-astronomy-205-class-poster-presentations)

April 17, 2025

Logan Wilson (Harvard '26) wins best poster at the Astronomy 205 class poster presentations in April 2025

Show morerefresh