NASA has selected 24 new Fellows for its prestigious NASA Hubble Fellowship Program (NHFP). The program enables outstanding postdoctoral scientists to pursue independent research in any area of NASA Astrophysics, using theory, observation, experimentation, or instrument development. Each fellowship provides the awardee up to three years of support.

The new NHFP preserves the legacy of NASA's previous postdoctoral fellowship programs, the Hubble, Einstein and Sagan Fellowships. Once selected, fellows are named to one of three sub-categories corresponding to three broad scientific questions NASA has sought to answer about the universe:

How does the universe work? - Einstein Fellows

How did we get here? - Hubble Fellows

Are we alone? - Sagan Fellows

The NHFP continues to be one of the highlights of NASA's pursuit of excellence in space science.

"The NASA Hubble Fellowship Program selects some of the best new scientists and provides opportunities for them to excel in the field of astrophysics," said Paul Hertz, Astrophysics Division Director at NASA Headquarters, Washington. "Their discoveries will advance our understanding of the cosmos and bring us closer to solving the mysteries of the universe."

The newly selected NHFP Fellows will begin their programs in the fall of 2018 at a host university or research center of their choosing in the United States. The list below provides the names of the 2018 awardees, their host institutions, and their proposed research topics:

Einstein Fellows

Kate Alexander , Northwestern University, Quantifying the Diversity of Relativistic Transients with Radio Observations

, Northwestern University, Quantifying the Diversity of Relativistic Transients with Radio Observations Benedikt Diemer , Harvard University, Mapping the True Boundary of Dark Matter Halos with the Splashback Radius

, Harvard University, Mapping the True Boundary of Dark Matter Halos with the Splashback Radius Ke Fang , Stanford University, The Highest-energy Electromagnetic Counterparts to Neutron Star Mergers

, Stanford University, The Highest-energy Electromagnetic Counterparts to Neutron Star Mergers Maximiliano Isi , Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Fundamental Physics in the Era of Gravitational Wave Astronomy

, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Fundamental Physics in the Era of Gravitational Wave Astronomy Ben Margalit , University of California-Berkeley, Interpreting the Diverse Transient Sky

, University of California-Berkeley, Interpreting the Diverse Transient Sky Aaron Smith , Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Radiation Signatures of the First Galaxies and Supermassive Black Holes

, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Radiation Signatures of the First Galaxies and Supermassive Black Holes Vladimir Zhdankin, Princeton University, First-Principles Modeling of Astrophysical Turbulence in Collisionless, Nonthermal Plasmas

Hubble Fellows

Philip Cowperthwaite , Carnegie Observatories, Driving the Growth of Joint Gravitational Wave and Electromagnetic Astronomy

, Carnegie Observatories, Driving the Growth of Joint Gravitational Wave and Electromagnetic Astronomy Daniel Goldstein , Jet Propulsion Laboratory,Putting a New Generation of Strongly Lensed Supernovae to Work

, Jet Propulsion Laboratory,Putting a New Generation of Strongly Lensed Supernovae to Work Max Gronke , University of California-Santa Barbara, Casting (Lyman-Alpha) Light on Galaxy Formation

, University of California-Santa Barbara, Casting (Lyman-Alpha) Light on Galaxy Formation Melodie Kao , Arizona State University, How Do Substellar Objects Generate Magnetic Fields?

, Arizona State University, How Do Substellar Objects Generate Magnetic Fields? Charlotte Mason , Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory, Revolutionizing Reionization with JWST

, Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory, Revolutionizing Reionization with JWST Aaron Meisner , Caltech, Revealing the Sun's Coolest, Nearest Neighbors with NEOWISE-Reactivation

, Caltech, Revealing the Sun's Coolest, Nearest Neighbors with NEOWISE-Reactivation Erica Nelson , Harvard University, The Emergence of Galactic Structure

, Harvard University, The Emergence of Galactic Structure Anna Schauer , University of Texas-Austin, Minihaloes: Formation Sites of the First Stars and the Onset of Reionization

, University of Texas-Austin, Minihaloes: Formation Sites of the First Stars and the Onset of Reionization Irene Shivaei , University of Arizona, Unveiling the Obscured Early Universe in the JWST Era

, University of Arizona, Unveiling the Obscured Early Universe in the JWST Era Tuguldur Sukhbold , The Ohio State University, Core-Collapse Supernovae Across Metallicities and Engines

, The Ohio State University, Core-Collapse Supernovae Across Metallicities and Engines Jamie Tayar , University of Hawaii-Institute for Astronomy, Subgiants: Models, Rotation, Convection, and Planets

, University of Hawaii-Institute for Astronomy, Subgiants: Models, Rotation, Convection, and Planets Yuan-Sen Ting, Institute for Advanced Study, Chemically Tagging the Milky Way

Sagan Fellows

Ian Czekala , University of California-Berkeley, A Uniform Measurement of Pre-Main Sequence Stellar Masses and System Architectures Using Protoplanetary Disks

, University of California-Berkeley, A Uniform Measurement of Pre-Main Sequence Stellar Masses and System Architectures Using Protoplanetary Disks Johan Mazoyer , Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Can We Detect Exo-Earths with Future Large Space-Based Coronagraphic Instruments?

, Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Can We Detect Exo-Earths with Future Large Space-Based Coronagraphic Instruments? Erik Petigura , Caltech, The Origin of Small Planets

, Caltech, The Origin of Small Planets Kamber Schwarz , University of Arizona, The Evolution of Volatile Molecules from Protoplanetary Disks to Exoplanet Atmospheres

, University of Arizona, The Evolution of Volatile Molecules from Protoplanetary Disks to Exoplanet Atmospheres Daniel Tamayo, Princeton University, A Million-Fold Speedup in the Dynamical Characterization of Exoplanet Systems

More than 500 of the world's prominent and active scientists in astrophysics have been supported in their early careers since NASA began the fellowship program in 1990 with the creation of the original Hubble Fellowship. The Space Telescope Science Institute (STScI) administers the NHFP on behalf of NASA, in collaboration with the NASA Exoplanet Science Institute (NExScI) at Caltech in Pasadena, California, and the Chandra X-ray Center (CXC) at the Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory in Cambridge, Massachusetts.

An important part of the NHFP are the Symposia, which allow Fellows the opportunity to present results of their research, to meet each other and the scientific and administrative staff who manage the program.

The Chandra X-ray Center administers the Einstein Fellowship program for NASA. NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama, manages the Chandra program for NASA's Science Mission Directorate in Washington. The Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory controls Chandra's science and flight operations. STScI administers the Hubble Fellowship program for NASA. STScI is the science operations center for the Hubble Space Telescope and the science and mission operations center for the James Webb Space Telescope, scheduled for launch in 2020. STScI is operated for NASA by the Association of Universities for Research in Astronomy, in Washington. The NASA Exoplanet Science Institute, which is operated at Caltech in coordination with the Jet Propulsion Laboratory, administers the Sagan Fellowship program for NASA.

For photos and more information about the 2018 NHFP Fellows and this program visit:

http://hubblesite.org/news_release/news/2018-22

https://nhfp.stsci.edu/nhfp-2018-fellows

News Media Contact

Calla CofieldJet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, Calif.818-393-1821Calla.e.cofield@jpl.nasa.govCheryl GundySpace Telescope Science Institute, Baltimore410-338-4707gundy@stsci.edu2018-068