PhD in Physics - Astrophysics in Storrs United States | University of Connecticut

Welcome to UConn Astrophysics, where our faculty explore diverse cosmic phenomena - from star birth in the Milky Way to supermassive black holes, galaxy evolution, and gravitational waves across the universe. Our expanding program provides students with a dynamic, inclusive setting for pioneering research. We're developing innovative astrophysics courses emphasizing active learning, complemented by a growing curriculum that now includes an astrophysics minor. UConn Astrophysics collaborates with the Northeast Participation Group in the Prime Focus Spectrograph (PFS) project on the Subaru Telescope.

We're dedicated to fostering diversity in astrophysics and increasing involvement from historically underrepresented communities.

Computational Galaxy Formation (Anglés-Alcázar): Professor Anglés-Alcázar specializes in theoretical astrophysics, investigating galaxy evolution from star formation to black hole-galaxy co-evolution and cosmic structure growth. His team creates advanced simulations to study the multi-scale processes driving galaxy development, with current focus on matter exchange between galaxies and their surroundings, supermassive black hole impacts, and cosmological implications. Key collaborations include the FIRE project, SIMBA simulation, and CAMELS initiative.
Star Formation (Battersby): The Milky Way Laboratory, led by Professor Cara Battersby, uses our galaxy as a cosmic testbed. Combining observational data (from projects like CMZoom, ALMAGAL, and ACES) with simulations, the group examines star birth in extreme galactic environments, star cluster formation, and the Milky Way's structure, particularly its central 3D geometry.
Galactic Baryon Cycle (Faesi): Galaxies host a continuous matter cycle between stars and interstellar gas. Prof. Faesi's team, part of the PHANGS collaboration, employs cutting-edge telescopes (VLA, ALMA, Hubble, VLT, and soon JWST) to study this process - from gas cloud collapse to star formation and supernova feedback - across different galaxies, advancing our understanding of galactic evolution.