The Rice Research Group  

David M. Hernandez is a CycloAstro fellow at Yale University. Previously, he was a Minor Planet Center Fellow and Institute for Theory and Computation associate at the Harvard--Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics. David obtained his BS degree at the University of Arizona, where he was an Arizona Flinn Scholar and U.S. Goldwater Scholar and his PhD in June 2018 at MIT, where he was an NSF Graduate Research Fellow. David also held brief postdoctoral positions at RIKEN CCS and MIT. David is a theoretical and computational astrophysicist; his research focuses on applications of the mathematical N-body problem, which describes the motions of planets, stars, and galaxies.

Quang Tran is a 51 Pegasi b Fellow at Yale University. He obtained his BA in Physics from the University of Chicago in 2018 and his PhD from the University of Texas at Austin in 2024. His research is primarily focused on giant planet migration and evolution, precision radial velocities, and young stars and stellar varability. He is also dedicated to leveraging mentorship as a means to increase accessibility to science and astronomy.

Isabella Trierweiler is a postdoctoral associate at Yale University. Her research focuses on the use of polluted white dwarfs to study the compositions and geochemistry of exoplanets. She completed her undergraduate studies at Yale and earned her PhD from UCLA. She’s also excited about informal education and science communication, and served as an outreach coordinator for UCLA Astronomy and as an author for Astrobites.

Ben Cassese is a fourth-year PhD student at Columbia University interested in the edges of our solar system and the planets/moons beyond them. Prior to joining Columbia, he graduated from Caltech with a degree in Planetary Science and History. In addition to research, he is also passionate about science communication and currently serves as the AAS Media Fellow as well as an author within the Astrobites Collaboration.

Konstantin Gerbig is a fifth-year PhD student in the Yale Department of Astronomy. He is interested in planet formation theory, protoplanetary disk physics, and the formation and characterization of binary stellar systems. In his research, he utilizes both analytic tools and computational hydrodynamics. Before coming to Yale as a PhD student, he was at the MPIA in Heidelberg, Germany, where he completed his undergraduate studies, as well as UC Santa Cruz.

Tiger Lu is a fifth-year PhD student at Yale. He is originally from Shanghai, China and received his undergraduate degree in astronomy from Caltech in 2020. He is primarily interested in exoplanet dynamics and numerical methods.

Kendra Nguyen is a first-year Astronomy PhD student at Yale. They are from Los Angeles, CA, where they also studied Astronomy and Politics at Pomona College. They are interested in exoplanet characterization and studying exoplanets in binary systems. Beyond research, they are passionate about public outreach and speaking with students.

Yurou (Nina) Liu is a junior undergraduate student at Yale University majoring in physics and computer science, and interested in planetary astrophysics. She is researching the formation and evolution of hot Jupiters in binary systems. In her free time, Nina enjoys making handicrafts and drawing. She also enjoys learning about art and architecture history.

Kenny Phan is a sophomore undergraduate student at Yale University majoring in Astrophysics, with broad fascinations in planetary physics, astrobiology, and cosmology. He is interested in STEM education, particularly as it relates to access and equity. He has resolved weather patterns on Neptune from photometric data, and plans to perform a similar analysis for other gas giants. During his spare time he likes to cook and read history.

Em Sanzone is a junior undergraduate student at Yale University majoring in astrophysics. They are primarily interested in planetary astrophysics and its applications within the outer solar system. Their research is currently focused on constraining weather patterns on Uranus and other gas giants. In their free time, Em enjoys writing and baking.