Dynamical Demographics of Exoplanet Systems
Guest Speaker
Thursday, 18th January 2024 (19:45 - 22:00)
Venue: The J.A. Jones Hoober Observatory
The orbital configurations of planetary systems serve as the fossilized signatures of their past dynamical evolution. These signatures provide a direct window into planetary systems’ formation histories, offering insights into the prevalence of planet migration, long-term orbital evolution, and short-term planet-planet scattering events. I will discuss how the dynamic relationship between stars, planets, and minor planets can be examined to reveal clues about the underlying processes that produce the observed diversity of planetary systems. My talk will draw from the interconnected subfields of solar system and exoplanetary science.
Speaker: Dr Malena Rice
Academic background
I received my PhD at Yale University in 2022, where I was as an NSF Graduate Research Fellow and a P.E.O. Scholar. Before that, I received my Bachelor's degrees in Physics and Astrophysics from UC Berkeley in 2017 as a Regents' and Chancellor's Scholar. I was fortunate to spend one year as a 51 Pegasi b Postdoctoral Fellow at the MIT Kavli Institute before returning to Yale Astronomy as an Assistant Professor in 2023. I received the 2022 IAU PhD Prize for my dissertation, "A Dynamical Synthesis of Planetary Systems". I was also named to the 2023 Forbes 30 Under 30 list and was selected as a 2023 Rising Talent by the Women's Forum for the Economy & Society.
Ph.D. Astronomy, Yale University (2022)
M.Phil. Astronomy, Yale University (2020)
M.A. Astronomy, Yale University (2020)
B.A. Astrophysics, UC Berkeley (2017)
B.A. Physics, UC Berkeley (2017)
General Background I am originally from Simi Valley, CA (USA). I am mixed-race and come from a multicultural background, with Sino-Vietnamese and American roots. In my free time, I enjoy eating great bread, learning about modern and contemporary art, playing the flute and piano, reading in coffee shops, and getting outdoors. I also love to travel and find new ways to broaden my perspective. I am an Executive Committee Member in the NASA Exoplanet Exploration Program Analysis Group (ExoPAG), a Steering Committee Member for the NASA ExoExplorers program, a member of the TESS Users Committee (TUC), and an Editorial Board Member at Nature Scientific Reports. I am passionate about research, teaching, and outreach, and I am always looking for ways to support early-career astronomers in both my department and my broader community.