Dartmouth Astrophysicists Awarded NASA Grant to Unlock Stellar Secrets Using the Roman Space Telescope

Dartmouth College astrophysicists Dr. Burçin Mutlu-Pakdil and Dr. Elisabeth Newton have both been selected for funding by NASA under the Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope's Wide Field Science initiative. Their work will maximize the scientific impact of Roman's community surveys. 

Dr. Mutlu-Pakdil's project aims to enhance the telescope's discovery potential for faint dwarf galaxies, which are among the most elusive and scientifically valuable objects in the universe.

"Dwarf galaxies are powerful laboratories for understanding the physics of galaxy formation and the nature of dark matter," said Dr. Mutlu-Pakdil. "With Roman's unprecedented sensitivity and wide field of view, we have an extraordinary opportunity to push the frontiers of near-field cosmology."

Dr. Mutlu-Pakdil and her team will develop advanced tools to detect and characterize the faintest and most distant dwarf galaxies ever observed, and provide recommendations for optimizing Roman's survey strategy. These efforts will help ensure that Roman delivers transformative science in its exploration of the nearby universe.

The scope of Dr. Newton's project is even closer to home, focusing on stars and exoplanets within our Milky Way galaxy. She will assess the impact of stellar flares–energetic events that can increase the brightness of a star twice over–on the detectability of exoplanets. Her work will support the exoplanet community's goals of measuring the occurrence rates of Earth-mass planets.

The Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope, NASA's next flagship astrophysics mission, is set to launch later this decade and will enable wide-field infrared surveys with Hubble-quality resolution—making it uniquely suited to uncovering new dwarf galaxies and deepening our understanding of dark matter and cosmic structure.