2024 Great Lecture in Astronomy
Feb
24
2024
STARFORGE Project
Feb
24
2024
Description
The Department of Astronomy and McDonald Observatory Board of Visitors presents the 2024 Great Lecture. Limited in-person seating is available to the general public on a first-come, first-served basis. Doors at 1:50 p.m. Livestream attendance is also welcome.
The recent revolution in artificial intelligence (AI), together with advances in observational capabilities and numerical methods, has opened new frontiers of scientific analysis. Observations of nearby star-forming regions are an ideal testbed for AI methods: star formation results from the complex, non-linear interplay between gravity, turbulence, magnetic fields, radiation, and stellar feedback. AI techniques, combined with numerical simulations and theoretical models, can effectively cut through the messiness of observations to provide insights into underlying physical behavior.
Prof. Offner will describe studies that apply computer vision and generative AI to tackle fundamental star formation questions: How does stellar feedback impact molecular clouds? What is the past and future evolution of star-forming regions? Prof. Offner will explore how the recent advances in large language models (e.g., ChatGPT) will transform how astronomers interact with data and how astronomy discoveries are made
About the Speaker
Stella Offner joined the Astronomy Department at The University of Texas at Austin in 2017. Prof. Offner’s research focuses on understanding how stars like the Sun form by combining computer models, telescope observations and observational models (“synthetic observations”).
In 2019, she co-founded the STARFORGE (STAR FORmation in Gaseous Environments) Project, which is a multi-institution initiative to develop cutting-edge computer simulations of star formation and to use them to tackle some of the biggest questions in star formation, including:
- What sets the masses of stars?
- How do forming stars shape their birth environment through radiation, winds, jets and supernovae?
- Why do some star systems, such as Alpha Centauri, contain more than one star?
As Prof. Offner’s research spans astrophysics, computer science, statistics, and chemistry, it comes as no surprise that her work brings her into contact with many centers for interdisciplinary learning across campus. Stella is a core faculty member at the Oden Institute for Computational Engineering and Science. She is also a member of the Center for Scientific Machine Learning, the Center for Planetary Systems Habitability, and the Machine Learning Laboratory.
Aside from the many prestigious awards (such as the National Science Foundation Early Career Award) Stella’s research has earned her, she has also been recognized for her merit as an educator, winning the College of Natural Science Teaching Excellence award in 2019. Stella was the Department of Astronomy’s graduate student adviser for four years up until Fall 2023, mentoring many young scientists here at UT.