The Rice Research Group  

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.

Yan Liang is a 51 Pegasi b Fellow at Yale University. She develops generative AI models to disentangle stellar activity from planetary signals in radial-velocity data, with the goal of uncovering small, Earth-like planets. More broadly, she is interested in applying machine learning methods across astronomy. She received her Ph.D. in astrophysics from Princeton University and her B.A. in physics from UC Berkeley.

Nick Saunders is a YCAA Prize Postdoctoral Fellow at Yale University. He obtained a BS in Astronomy and Physics and a BA in Cinema Studies from the University of Washington in Seattle. Nick spent a year as a Support Scientist for the Kepler/K2 mission at the NASA Ames Research Center before obtaining his PhD at the Institute for Astronomy, University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa. His research lies at the intersection of theoretical stellar astrophysics and observational exoplanet science, exploring how planetary systems change as their stars evolve.

Tiger Lu is a Flatiron Research Fellow at the Center for Computational Astrophysics (CCA) in New York City. He received his Ph.D. from Yale University in 2025 and his B.S. from Caltech in 2020. He is broadly interested in exoplanet dynamics, numerical methods, planet-disk interactions and planetary interiors.

Kendra Nguyen is a third-year Astronomy PhD student at Yale. They are from Los Angeles, CA, where they 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.

Rewa Clark Bush is a second-year Astronomy PhD student at Yale. She received her BA in English from Oberlin College and MA in Astronomy from Wesleyan University. She is interested in the evolution of exoplanet orbits and their implications for habitability. Rewa is passionate about space environmentalism and has worked in dark sky preservation and education in both state and national parks.

Arielle Frommer is a first-year Astronomy PhD student at Yale. She received her BA in Astrophysics and Physics from Harvard University and after graduating spent a year researching exoplanet atmospheres at Leiden Observatory. She is interested in exoplanet atmospheres, demographics, and applying machine learning and computational techniques to study them. Beyond research, she is passionate about science communication, penning articles for Sky & Telescope and Scientific American.

Vighnesh Nagpal is an NSF Graduate Research Fellow at the University of Chicago. He obtained his Bachelor's degrees in Physics & Astrophysics from the University of California, Berkeley in 2024. He is broadly interested in exoplanet atmospheres, dynamics, and understanding how Galactic-scale effects influence the Milky Way's exoplanet population.

Kenny Phan is a fourth-year undergraduate student at Yale University majoring in astrophysics, with broad interests 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.

Mariana Ruvalcaba Cervantes is a third-year undergraduate student at Yale from Los Angeles, majoring in Astrophysics and with broader interests in planetary physics and geochemistry. Her current research focuses on giant planet formation and migration. As a first-generation student, she is passionate about creating pathways for students from all backgrounds to thrive in STEM. Outside of academics, she enjoys cooking traditional Mexican foods, hiking, and community activism.

Ana Sabillon is a second-year undergraduate student at Yale College. Originally from the Dominican Republic, she is majoring in Physics and is currently most interested in cosmology and planetary science. Her research focuses on the formation and evolution of sub-Jovian exoplanets. In her free time, she’s involved in the Yale Astronomical and Space Student Society, enjoys dog-sitting, and watching ballets.