Astronomy Professor Neal Dalal named 2012 Sloan Fellow

Neal K. Dalal, assistant professor of Astronomy, has been selected to receive a 2012 Sloan Research Fellowship from the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation. Prof. Dalal is one of 126 early career scientists and researchers from 51 colleges and universities chosen for a two-year fellowship. His research interests lie in the studies of cosmic structure formation, inflation physics, and dark matter. ... Full Details

Paul Ricker Named 2012-13 CAS Faculty Associate

The Astronomy Department congratulates Associate Professor of Astronomy Paul Ricker for being selected as a Center for Advanced Study (CAS) Associate in the 2012-13 academic year. Each year, Illinois faculty are invited to submit proposals for consideration by the CAS. Faculty members with winning proposals are appointed Associates and Fellows and awarded one semester of release time to pursue their projects in the coming academic year. ... Full Details

Astronomers look to neighboring galaxy for star formation insight

An international team of astronomers, led by University of Illinois astronomy professor Tony Wong, has mapped in detail the star-birthing regions of the nearest star-forming galaxy to our own, a step toward understanding the conditions surrounding star creation. The researchers published their findings in the December issue of the Astrophysical Journal Supplement Series. ... Full Details