Ho‘i Mai — Makana Silva Bringing Knowledge Back Home

Makana Silva, a self-described kanak (kanaka maoli), a Native Hawaiian astrophysicist and strongman, hails from the island of O‘ahu and currently is working on his dissertation in the physics department at The Ohio State University in Columbus, Ohio. Born and raised in humble conditions, his longtime interest in science has taken him to study theContinue reading “Ho‘i Mai — Makana Silva Bringing Knowledge Back Home”

Tyler Trent Talks Astrophysics: Humble, Social, Creative

“Everyone chooses to spend their time doing certain things and learning about certain things, and I just chose to spend my time learning about [astrophysics]. But it doesn’t make me any smarter or any more capable of navigating the world than someone who decided to be a surfer.”

A Beer Spectrometer and Other Adventures: Mailani Neal on Being an Instrument Scientist in Astronomy

Instrument scientists thrive on engineering and technology. Cherished characters from sci-fi might come to mind: Scotty. Geordi. B’Elanna. Kaylee. Add Mailani Neal to the list. A graduate student at New Mexico Tech, Mailani is working toward a PhD that will advance her to her goal of becoming an instrument scientist. She reflects that “it’s veryContinue reading “A Beer Spectrometer and Other Adventures: Mailani Neal on Being an Instrument Scientist in Astronomy”