There are many avenues that can be explored after graduating with a B.S., M.S., and/or Ph. D. in Astronomy and Astrophysics. Below is a selection of former students and the career path they've taken. Read the complete list of post-doctoral fellows, graduate and undergraduate students.
Breann Sitarski, Giant Magellan Telescope Organization
Dr. Breann Sitarski received her B. S. in Astrophysics from UCLA in 2010 and her Ph.D in Astronomy from UCLA in 2016. She worked briefly as a member of the technical staff at the Aerospace Corporation. She is now the Optical Systems Scientist at the Giant Magellan Telescope Organization, where she is responsible for developing and maintaining requirements relevant to optical system performance while continuously monitoring the performance of the GMT. This includes preparing technical budgets, coordinating optical performance estimates, using and creating models of the observatory to evaluate performance.
Sylvana Yelda, Aerospace Corporation
Dr. Sylvana Yelda received her Bachelors from University of Michigan, and completed her Ph. D. from UCLA in 2012. She held a Post Doctoral position at the Galctic Center Group from 2012 -2014 also at UCLA. She is now a technical staff member at the Aerospace Corporation.
Ted Krermenek, Apple Inc.
Dr. Ted Kremenek worked at with the Galactic Center Group during his undergradute studies at UCLA. He received his Ph. D in computer science from Stanford University on a NSF graduate fellowship. After the completion of his doctoral candancy he joined the team at Apple Inc. Over the years he has served as a consultant to the Galactic Center Group on many programming issues.
Jessica Lu, Assistant Professor, University of California, Berkeley
Dr. Jessica Lu earned her Bachelors in Physics at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in 2000 and her Ph.D. in Astronomy from the University of California Los Angeles in 2008. Dr. Lu was the recipient of both the NSF Postdoctoral Fellowship as well as the CalTech Millikan Postdoctoral Fellowship. She then joined the Institute for Astronomy at the University of Hawaii as an Assistant Astronomer.
Dr. Lu is currently an Assistant Professor at University of California, Berkeley.
Seth Hornstein, Senior Instructor, University of Colorado, Boulder
Prof. Hornstien received his Ph.D. from UCLA in 2006. He is a full time instructor at Department of Astrophysical and Planetary Sciences, where he focuses on research how to improve large-enrollment non-science major classes and undergraduate astronomy education, and ways to effectively measure that improvement. He is also the Observatory and Education Director for Sommers-Bausch Observatory.
Tuan Do, Deputy Director, Galactic Center Group
Dr. Tuan Do received his B.A. in Physics and Astrophysics from the University of California, Berkeley in 2004 and his Ph.D. in Astronomy from the University of California Los Angeles in 2010. He was a Dunlap Fellow at the Dunlap Institute at the University of Toronto, where he focuses his research on studying the composition and star formation history of the Milky Way nuclear star cluster and how these stars interact with the supermassive black hole at the Galactic center. He joined the Galactic Center Group as Deputy Director upon completion of his fellowship.