Eileen Gonzales
Alma materCity University of New York, San Francisco State University
Scientific career
FieldsAstrophysics, astronomy, exoplanets, brown dwarves, low-mass stars
InstitutionsCornell University, American Museum of Natural History
ThesisUnderstanding Atmospheres Across the Stellar-Substellar Boundary (2020)
Doctoral advisorJacqueline K. Faherty

Eileen Gonzales is an American astrophysicist and postdoctoral fellow at the Department of Astronomy at Cornell University, where her research focuses on exoplanets and brown dwarfs. She is also a co-founder and lead organizer of #BlackInPhysics, a campaign to recognize and celebrate Black physicists and amplify their work.

Early life and education

Gonzales grew up in Virginia Beach, Virginia. She studied astrophysics at Michigan State University, and obtained her Master's in Physics from San Francisco State University.[1][2] She joined the Graduate Center of the City University of New York for her graduate studies, obtaining an MA from Hunter College, an MPhil in Physics, and her PhD in 2020.[3][4] During her doctoral research, she investigated the atmospheric conditions of low-mass stars and brown dwarves.[5][6][7][8]

Research career

Gonzales is a 51 Pegasi b Fellow at the Department of Astronomy at Cornell University,[9] where she combines techniques and knowledge from observational astronomy and theoretical astrophysics to study the atmospheric conditions of exoplanets.[10][11] In particular, she works on translating techniques initially developed to study the clouds of brown dwarfs to study atmosphere of other substellar objects, such as gas giant exoplanets.[12][13] She is also a visiting scientist at the American Museum of Natural History.[14]

Outreach and advocacy

Gonzales is involved with science education and outreach programs. During her doctoral studies she worked at the American Museum of Natural History, supervising and mentoring high school students and teaching astronomy.[15][16]

Gonzales was also a lead organizer of the first #BlackInPhysics Week alongside Charles D. Brown II and Jessica Esquivel, leading an initiative that aimed to increase the recognition of Black physicists and celebrate their contributions to science.[17] The campaign was inspired by the success of similar #BlackInX programs, such as Black Birders Week, and was supported by organizations including Nature Physics,[18] the American Institute of Physics,[19] Physics Today,[20] and Physics World.[21] BlackInPhysics also set out to create a community of support for Black physicists, raise awareness of the social and political challenges faced by Black physicists, and provide more visibility to Black role models in science.[22]

References

  1. ↑ Gonzales, Eileen; Fries, Adam; Cool, Adrienne (2015-01-01). "Testing the refurbished 30-inch Leuschner telescope and its exoplanet detection capabilities". American Astronomical Society Meeting Abstracts #225. 225: 258.04. Bibcode:2015AAS...22525804G.
  2. ↑ "Eileen Gonzales Bio". ecgonzales.github.io. Retrieved 2021-03-01.
  3. ↑ Gonzales, Eileen (2020-09-01). "Understanding Atmospheres Across the Stellar-Substellar Boundary". Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects.
  4. ↑ "CUNY Astro – Astronomy & Astrophysics Research at CUNY". cunyastro.org. Retrieved 2021-03-01.
  5. ↑ Faherty, Jacqueline K.; Gagné, Jonathan; Burgasser, Adam J.; Mamajek, Eric E.; Gonzales, Eileen C.; Bardalez Gagliuffi, Daniella C.; Marocco, Federico (2018-11-16). "A Late-type L Dwarf at 11 pc Hiding in the Galactic Plane Characterized Using Gaia DR2". The Astrophysical Journal. 868 (1): 44. arXiv:1805.01573. Bibcode:2018ApJ...868...44F. doi:10.3847/1538-4357/aadd04. ISSN 1538-4357. S2CID 56047800.
  6. ↑ Gonzales, Eileen C.; Faherty, Jacqueline K.; Gagné, Jonathan; Teske, Johanna; McWilliam, Andrew; Cruz, Kelle (2019-11-29). "A Reanalysis of the Fundamental Parameters and Age of TRAPPIST-1". The Astrophysical Journal. 886 (2): 131. arXiv:1909.13859. Bibcode:2019ApJ...886..131G. doi:10.3847/1538-4357/ab48fc. ISSN 1538-4357. S2CID 203594024.
  7. ↑ Gonzales, Eileen C.; Burningham, Ben; Faherty, Jacqueline K.; Cleary, Colleen; Visscher, Channon; Marley, Mark S.; Lupu, Roxana; Freedman, Richard (2020-12-10). "Retrieval of the d/sdL7+T7.5p Binary SDSS J1416+1348AB". The Astrophysical Journal. 905 (1): 46. arXiv:2010.01224. Bibcode:2020ApJ...905...46G. doi:10.3847/1538-4357/abbee2. ISSN 1538-4357. S2CID 230602357.
  8. ↑ Zagorac, Luna (2020-10-14). "Brown Dwarf Weather Forecast: Cloudy or Clear Skies?". Astrobites. Retrieved 2021-03-01.
  9. ↑ "Ph.D. Candidate Wins Planetary Astronomy Fellowship That Provides Up to $375,000 in Funding". March 26, 2020. Retrieved 2022-04-10.
  10. ↑ "Cornell linked to three 51 Pegasi b astronomy postdocs". Cornell Chronicle. Retrieved 2021-03-01.
  11. ↑ Hershberger, Scott (22 October 2020). "#BlackInPhysics week to build community, increase visibility". symmetry magazine. Retrieved 2021-03-01.
  12. ↑ "Eileen Gonzales, Ph.D. candidate". Heising-Simons Foundation. Retrieved 2021-03-01.
  13. ↑ "Meet the organizers of #BlackInPhysics Week". Physics Today. 2020 (4): 1026b. 2020. Bibcode:2020PhT..2020R1026.. doi:10.1063/pt.6.4.20201026b. S2CID 243455670.
  14. ↑ "Eileen Gonzales CV". ecgonzales.github.io. Retrieved 2021-03-01.
  15. ↑ "She's Into the Coolest Stars". www.gc.cuny.edu. Retrieved 2021-03-01.
  16. ↑ "International Astronomical Union | IAU". www.iau.org. Retrieved 2021-03-01.
  17. ↑ "AIP Showcases #BlackinPhysics Week with Essays, Oral Histories, Social Media Outreach". www.newswise.com. Retrieved 2021-03-01.
  18. ↑ Brown, Charles D.; Gonzales, Eileen (January 2021). "Excellence and power in the Black physics community". Nature Physics. 17 (1): 3–4. Bibcode:2021NatPh..17....3B. doi:10.1038/s41567-020-01140-9. ISSN 1745-2481. S2CID 230508779.
  19. ↑ "AIP Showcases #BlackinPhysics Week with Essays, Oral Histories, Social Media Outreach". www.newswise.com. Retrieved 2021-03-01.
  20. ↑ "#BlackInPhysics Week essay series". Physics Today. 2020 (4): 1026a. 2020. Bibcode:2020PhT..2020Q1026.. doi:10.1063/pt.6.4.20201026a. S2CID 243124449. Archived from the original on 2020-10-30. Retrieved 2021-03-01.
  21. ↑ "#BlackInPhysics". Physics World. Retrieved 2021-03-01.
  22. ↑ "The challenges facing Black physicists". Physics World. 2020-11-02. Retrieved 2021-03-01.
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