Kaley Brauer

Group photo of participants at the 2nd Annual RCSA Fellows Conference in a desert garden landscape.

2nd Annual #RCSAFellows Conference is underway in Tucson! Congrats to 2024 & 2025 Fellows, and thanks to our speakers, Facilitators & advisors for giving their time and advice so generously to help prepare these outstanding postdoctoral scholars for the faculty search process and the professoriate.

Apply this week to get mentorship while applying to astro postdocs!

Are you applying to postdocs in astro this year? Join AMP-UP, our mentorship program, for help with your applications!

Current prize postdoc fellows including myself will help edit proposals, brainstorm ideas, and more: amp-up.space/mentorship.h...

Are you applying to postdocs in astro this year? Join AMP-UP, our mentorship program, for help with your applications!

Current prize postdoc fellows including myself will help edit proposals, brainstorm ideas, and more: amp-up.space/mentorship.h...

RCSA Fellows Initiative Selects 2025 Cohort

RCSA has selected a new class of outstanding postdoctoral scholars in the second year of the #RCSAFellows Initiative, which aims to increase faculty excellence in the physical sciences through a multiyear program of job search preparation, professional development, and community building.

Our next paper is out! We explore different Pop III initial mass functions and star-by-star modeling in galaxy simulations

arxiv.org/abs/2502.20433

It’s been almost ten years since I did my first astro research (asteroid modeling) at the SETI REU and I still have my asteroid model sitting in my office!

I am where I am because of my unbelievable REU experiences. This is true for so many people.

We are trying to scrounge up funding to continue the REU at Harvard in any way possible, but this is all so horrible. These programs change the lives of young scientists

National Science Foundation restores payments after five-day pause, but worries over science funding persist The NSF said on Sunday that its payment system was back on line, after it froze out researchers and sparked financial worries.

NSF froze payments to researchers.

State AGs said it was unconstitutional for exec branch to pause congressionally mandated funds.

Judge issued restraining order.

Payments resumed.

But some inconsistencies in what the NSF has said (thread):
www.statnews.com/2025/02/02/n...

Donate to Fund Jonathan's Space Report Library Transition, organized by Jonathan McDowell For 35 years I've been sharing information about space exploration w… Jonathan McDowell needs your support for Fund Jonathan's Space Report Library Transition

Well, big news. I am planning to move the Space Library to a new home. And I need some help - in 35 years I've never asked for funding, donations or subscriptions for my Space Report, to keep it independent, but now I need to raise some additional funds.
www.gofundme.com/f/fund-jonat...

Presenter at a projector. The slide says “One cannot prioritize scientific discoveries while ignoring the humanity of the people we work with”

Incredible talk by @astrotamalasado.bsky.social about the Cenca Bridge program

The program provides research and professional development opportunities to students in Central America and the Caribbean through remote internships #AAS245 cencabridgeastro.weebly.com

Playing Spot-the-Astronomer on a plane to DC for #AAS245, currently at four people with space backpacks and/or telescope pins

Reminder: please nominate yourself or others! :) We still have 12 open slots for the winter and spring.

Aaand our next Aeos paper is out as well!!

Jennifer Mead leads the paper, finding feedback blows out all metals from early halos until they reach a mass of about 10^7 Msun. Read it here: arxiv.org/abs/2411.14209

I’d love to see how they compare! I’ll actually be at CCA on Friday for the galaxy meeting, would love to chat if you’re around

Our first Aeos paper is finally on arXiv!! ✨🔭 Read the summary below and the full paper here: arxiv.org/abs/2410.16366

Are you applying to postdocs in astro this year? Join AMP-UP, our mentorship program, for help with your applications!

Current prize postdocs fellows including myself will help with proposals, career advice, and more: aas.org/posts/news/2... 🔭

Spectacular nucleosynthesis from early massive stars Stars formed with initial mass over 50 Msun are very rare today, but they are thought to be more common in the early universe. The fates of those early, metal-poor, massive stars are highly...

If you just can't wait, our paper is out on arXiv now!
arxiv.org/abs/2401.02484
Thread to come...

Excited about near-field cosmology, Galactic dynamics, and Rubin/LSST? Apply for a postdoc in my new group at the University of Washington! Please spread the word to interested applicants, reach out if you have questions, and/or come find me at AAS! 🔭

Due: Jan 15
jobregister.aas.org/ad/82a47f8f

Right outside the clean room containing the pristine asteroid sample! It’s carefully contained to avoid terrestrial contamination #NASASocial #OSIRISREx #ToBennuAndBack 🔭

The carbon content of the Bennu sample is 4.7%, the highest carbon abundance ever measured in a sample returned to Earth. “This sample is LOADED with organics!” #NASASocial #OSIRISREx #ToBennuAndBack 🔭

Day 2 at NASA Johnson and we’re in Mission Control Center with Flight Director Pooja Jesrani! One hour before asteroid sample reveal #NASASocial #OSIRISREx #ToBennuAndBack 🔭

with Jessica Meir, astronaut and Brown alum 🤘
#NASASocial #OSIRISREx #ToBennuAndBack

4.7 BILLION year old carbonaceous chondrite meteorite! And the most recent lunar soil core sample from Apollo 17 (until Artemis collects more), a sample from the moon’s surface to 30 cm deep!! #NASASocial #OSIRISREx #ToBennuAndBack

Turns out astronaut rock collection just uses a fancy version of one of these #NASASocial

Moon rover that is being used during training for Artemis - two people LIVED in this for a week in the Arizona desert 🤯 #NASASocial #ToBennuAndBack #OSIRISREx

Viewing the prototypes of the glovebox used by scientists to open the #OSIRISREx canister and process the samples #NASASocial #ToBennuAndBack

day 1 at NASA Johnson, let’s goooo #OSIRISREx #ToBennuAndBack 🔭

love some nice space rocks 🔭

Heading to NASA Johnson for the Bennu asteroid sample unveiling!! Mostly posting on Twitter (X…) per NASA’s request, but gonna post stuff here as well