Jennifer Rodriguez

Jennifer Rodriguez

@astrojennifer.bsky.social

Astronomy PhD Student at Ohio State 🌌 She/her/ella 🇨🇱

479 Followers 203 Following 7 Posts Joined Aug 2023
Posts Following
4 days ago
Email from Chris Reynolds to the AXIS Team. Subject is disappointing AXIS news. Text of e-mail reads: Dear AXIS Friends, The AXIS team has received some very disappointing news – we have been informed by NASA HQ that AXIS is not eligible for selection and hence the Concept Study Report (CSR) will not be subjected to the full review process. AXIS represents the scientific aspirations of a large international community. As a member of one of the AXIS science working groups, you deserve a candid explanation from the PI of what happened and why. That is the purpose of this note. NASA’s decision was programmatic and not based on a review of the technology or science; the mission profile described in the submitted CSR was over the allowed budget and schedule. How was such a thing possible? In short, with NASA-GSFC as the AXIS managing center, the mission formulation process was critically compromised by the seismic shifts occurring in NASA and the Federal government. The AXIS study team was hit hard by three unprecedented challenges: NASA’s Deferred Resignation Program (DRP) and the pressure at GSFC to resign/retire created a rapid and uncontrolled loss of over 20 personnel with key expertise during a critical mission formulation period, including the main GSFC Project Manager (Jimmy Marsh) and the X-ray mirror lead (Will Zhang) and many discipline engineers. GSFC priorities rapidly realigned to the FY2026 President’s Budget Request (PBR) that eliminated the Probe program, further reducing the availability of GSFC engineering and mission formulation personnel (incl. cost analysts and schedulers) over the critical Summer and Fall months. Key work was halted for almost seven weeks when the core GSFC AXIS study team, dominated by NASA civil servants, was furloughed during the government shutdown. NASA HQ’s extension to the CSR submission deadline (from 18-Dec-2025 to 29-Jan-2026) was inadequate compensation for the disruption and lost time. Taken together, these factors disrupted the basic grass-roots costing process (which requires extensive “reach back” to the discipline engineers to assess labor requirements) as well as the cost-design iteration process that is central to the formulation of a cost-capped and schedule-constrained mission. While the mission design was finalized in April, our initial grass-roots costing (which was ~10% over budget) could only be completed in September due to the lack of assigned resources. With the subsequent government shutdown and then “pens down” in early-December forced by the GSFC Executive Review process, there was no opportunity to work through the set of cost/schedule savings that had already been identified by the AXIS team. Ultimately, the GSFC executive council gave AXIS leadership the choice of submitting a CSR with a non-compliant schedule and cost, or not submitting a CSR at all. We of course proceeded with the submission, including a narrative that we understood the path to a cost-compliant profile (that we would have discussed with the review panels during the Site Visit). NASA HQ has ruled this stance to be unacceptable. It is important to stress that NASA’s programmatic decision was before any technical review had been conducted. The decision was NOT due to any concerns about AXIS technology. Indeed, the AXIS Phase A work had major successes with furthering Indeed, the AXIS Phase A work had major successes with furthering the key technologies. GSFC’s Next Generation X-ray Optics (NGXO) team successfully demonstrated iridium-coated, stress-compensated mirror segments that meet AXIS baseline requirements (i.e. segment-level performance at sub-arcsecond level).  NGXO also built the first AXIS demonstrator mirror module, learning critical lessons about mirror alignment, mounting and bonding. On the detector side, MIT quickly moved to fabricate AXIS-like CCDs and, working with our colleagues at Stanford, recently demonstrated that they achieve the required readout rate and spectral resolution. Similarly, NASA’s decision was NOT a judgment of the importance of AXIS science. The AXIS science case was rated excellent in the Step 1 review, and it only became stronger during our Phase A study. The AXIS Community Science Book, which many of you contributed to, is an extremely powerful demonstration of the relevance and importance of high-resolution X-ray observations to all areas of astrophysics. The Science Book is one of the most important legacies of the AXIS Phase A study and, I believe, will help define future mission concepts for many years to come. I thank you all from the bottom of my heart for all of your work on this. AXIS has been a long journey; we started under the leadership of Richard Mushotzky more than nine years ago. During that time, it’s been an enormous privilege to work with amazing people; the AXIS science team, the incredible/brilliant GSFC and Northrop Grumman engineers, and the wider astrophysics community. I am, quite frankly, livid that AXIS ultimately fell victim to the programmatic chaos of 2025. The astronomical community deserves better. I hope that NASA leadership, especially at GSFC and HQ, can have an honest discussion about how to better support and protect programs during extraordinary times. For now, as a community, we must look forward. There is still one excellent mission under consideration for the Probe program, PRIMA, and we wish them a smooth and speedy path to selection and flight. In X-ray astronomy, the SMEX and MidEX programs represent concrete pathways for focused, high-impact missions, and the scientific case we built for AXIS provides a strong foundation for those concepts. The technologies we advanced in Step 1 and Phase A, particularly the NGXO mirror work and the MIT/Stanford detector demonstrations, can anchor the next generation of proposals. Most importantly, the AXIS Community Science Book, representing more than 500 scientists across, is a living document and a powerful signal to NASA leadership that this community is organized, serious, and not going anywhere. I encourage everyone to use it actively, as a resource for future concept development, for Astro2030 engagement, and for building the next mission that will deliver high angular resolution X-ray imaging to address the fundamental questions about black hole growth, galaxy evolution, and the hot universe that motivated AXIS from the beginning. This community built something remarkable over nine years and that doesn't end here. Thank you again for your support of AXIS over these times. Best Chris and the AXIS leadership team

The @axisprobe.bsky.social team learned that the phase A concept study report of AXIS (the Advanced X-ray Imaging Satellite) will not be reviewed because the lost personnel at NASA Goddard and government shutdown impacted our schedule and budget. 🔭 Here is the PI's e-mail with the explanation.

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3 weeks ago

We were told to scrub "biodiversity" from our websites because of this shit.

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1 month ago
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Bad Bunny condemns ICE during his #GRAMMYs speech for Best Música Urbana Album:

“Before I say thanks to god, I’m going to say, ICE out. We’re not savages, we’re not animals, we are humans and we are Americans.”

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3 months ago

Great article by @alexwitze.bsky.social on hurdles to attend SACNAS and NSBP/NSHP this year, with quotes from me & @astrojennifer.bsky.social: "even with all the barriers and uncertainties, people showed up, supported one another, and shared their science and stories with honesty and resilience". 👏

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3 months ago
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Dust in the Wind: A New Tool for Understanding Galactic Outflows The galaxy M82 is host to an extended multiphase wind driven by star formation. Today's paper attempts to use JWST observations of dust in the wind to understand the structure of its cooler gas.

Great
@astrobites.bsky.social article by @skylargrayson.bsky.social
on OSU astronomy PhD student Sebastian Lopez's paper showing how PAHs (polycyclic aromatric hydrocarbons) follow cold gas in the outflows of M82, with a great classic rock-inspired title! 🔭 astrobites.org/2025/11/20/m...

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4 months ago
Lopez receives physics award Laura Lopez, a professor in the Department of Astronomy, is the recipient of the 2026 Edward A. Bouchet Award from the American Physical Society. The award honors Lopez’s pioneering contributions to X-ray astronomy, as well as her transformative leadership of mentoring programs for undergraduates, graduate students and postdocs. Laura A. Lopez, The Ohio State University 2026 recipient, Edward A. Bouchet Award For pioneering contributions to X-ray astronomy, including foundational studies of supernova remnants, compact objects, and stellar feedback in galaxies, and for transformative leadership in advancing equity and inclusion in physics through innovative mentorship programs, national advocacy, and unwavering support for students from historically marginalized communities.

Honored to receive the 2026 American Physical Society Edward A. Bouchet Award!

To see how the DEI ban in Ohio influences our university, please see the OSU announcement of the award (left) vs the actual APS citation for the award (right).

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4 months ago

For the record, I'm in hour 28 of air travel from SFO to Columbus, and I would take this any/every day(s) over Democrats agreeing to take away healthcare. What was the point of all this just to be complicit with the same terrible outcome?

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4 months ago
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This is the face of astronomy! Like this is one of my new favorite photos! We ate!!!! 💅🏾

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4 months ago

Excited to attend the @astrosociety.org gala tonight & receive the Nancy Grace Roman Award! I read about her life & career on my way here. Did you know she was responsible for making NASA data archives public so that everyone could benefit, not just PIs? Such an amazing impact on our field. 🔭

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4 months ago
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Had an amazing time at the first gathering for the 2030STEMxBWF Fellowship meeting at AMNH! So exiting for many things to come! Ll

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4 months ago
16 people from Ohio State University stand in front of a green SACNAS display, with a red cartoon dear and SACNAS logo in front of them.

Had a great time at the @sacnas.bsky.social conference last week! Many Ohio State folks (see pic, including @astrojennifer.bsky.social, @denisemondragon.bsky.social, and me) attended despite restrictions. Congrats to @denisemondragon.bsky.social on winning best grad poster presentation!

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4 months ago
Advice for Pursuing Archival Astrophysics: Become familiar with astronomical archives & how to look at data quickly to see what is available. Think of interesting targets to you & look them up! Read observational abstracts to see what the goals of the observing program were; are they the same or different than yours? Many archives link to all papers that publish data. Look at those papers to see what’s been done; also look at papers that reference them to explore follow-up work. When in doubt if the investigators intended to do the same analysis as you, reach out to them and ask!

I gave a presentation at @sacnas.bsky.social on "archival astrophysics" in a session "Astronomy on the Cheap", showing tips on pursuing research using only archival data. Here are my slides, which include examples of different public archives & how to use them! 🔭 drive.google.com/file/d/1mw42...

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4 months ago
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Day One of #NDiSTEM2025 delivered! ✨ Opening Ceremony, Expo, Posters, and STEM symposia brought the energy. Plus—marketplace, mentoring, and networking moments that connect our community. @aaberhe.com
#STEMCommunity #SACNAS #STEM #STEMWorkforce #STEMLeadership

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4 months ago
Woman with curly hair standing in front of screen and stage. Two women taking a selfie in front of SACNAS banner. Both women have curly hair and professional clothing.

First day of SACNAS NDiSTEM 2025! 🧪👩🏻‍🔬 I’m so excited to enjoy a weekend filled with community and good science #NDiSTEM2025 w/ @astrojennifer.bsky.social
@sacnas.bsky.social

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4 months ago
Two women standing in front of SACNAS banner Two women standing in front of SACNAS banner next to a deer cutout Woman standing in front of screen and stage with SACNAS logo, holding up conference badge

So excited for the first day of SACNAS #NDiSTEM2025 with @denisemondragon.bsky.social @sacnas.bsky.social 🧪

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4 months ago
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This is what democracy looks like. #NoKings

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4 months ago

Folks in my department fought to attend these meetings by showing our white colleagues are members and participants. OSU said it didn't matter because the meetings may still be exclusionary (even though they aren't). It is maddening and racist to limit attendance at affinity group conferences.

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5 months ago
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US Astronomy Graduate Admissions, AY 2025-2026

Are you someone who is interested in astronomy graduate school? This is a list of many/most departments and their expectations for admissions this year. Please feel free to spread it far and wide. If you are doing admissions and you'd like to update your entry, reach out as per the form!

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5 months ago
Three-color image of the massive outflow of NGC 1266, with Chandra X-rays in blue, Halpha MUSE data in green, and VLA 5 GHz radio data in red. The + marks the location of the AGN.

OSU PhD student Sebastian Lopez led 2 papers on arXiv today, including one on the hot & warm gas in the NGC 1266 AGN-driven outflow! It uses Chandra data that Katey Alatalo and I proposed for as grad students; grad students can do great science together without advisors! 😀 arxiv.org/abs/2510.01321

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5 months ago

Ohio State just advised all staff and students not to attend the SACNAS (Society for the advancement of Chicanos and Native Americans in Science) annual meeting of 6000+ scientists -- which is in Columbus, OH this year! -- saying it may be exclusionary, even though it is open to all.

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5 months ago
A protester outside an ICE detention facility marches through clouds of irritant gas carrying American flags. A sign lying on the pavement by his feet reads “EVERY ICE AGENT WILL BE HELD TO ACCOUNT.”

I hope some newspapers use a crop where you can easily read the sign.

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6 months ago

Considering that most acknowledgments are simply… acknowledgments and statement of fact (and not a call for action), this seems like absolute BS and suppression of speech and academic freedom, period

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6 months ago
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Ohio State Bans Most Land Acknowledgments The new policy is one of several in response to a state law that aims to eliminate any mention of diversity, equity and inclusion at public universities.

www.insidehighered.com/news/faculty...

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6 months ago
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AAUP-OSU board member Richard Finlay Fletcher spoke to “Inside Higher Ed” about OSU’s ban on land acknowledgements - and its chilling effect on academic freedom. Link below.

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6 months ago
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Dorm floor decoration limited to Ohio State spirit themes, partially due to Senate Bill 1 When students walk onto their dorm floor for the first time, the walls could be covered in pop culture references like Spongebob or favorite dogs that the resident advisor believes incoming students w...

OSU is using SB1 as reason to prohibit any decorations in campus dorms besides school spirit. 🤯https://www.thelantern.com/2025/08/dorm-floor-decoration-limited-to-ohio-state-spirit-themes-partially-due-to-senate-bill-1/

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6 months ago

This will end the Hispanic-serving institution (HSI) program (schools with >25% Latino undergrads). For reference, current flagships that are HSIs include Arizona and Arizona State, 5 UCs (Irvine, Riverside, Merced, Santa Barbara, Santa Cruz), Rutgers, U New Mexico & NM State, UT Austin & UT El Paso

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6 months ago
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6 months ago
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Chalking Not Permitted on Campus | Facilities Operations and Development

Just in time to welcome students to campus…

President Carter & OSU admin continue the assault on free speech by banning the time honored tradition of chalking on campus. Whether governments or administrators, once they start rolling back free speech, they don’t stop.

fod.osu.edu/news/2025/08...

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7 months ago
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On August 3, we issued a statement in response to OSU President Ted Carter's interview with "Face the Nation" in late July.

The full statement is here: www.ohiostateaaup.org/uploads/1/3/...

See our webpage for more
www.ohiostateaaup.org

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7 months ago

OSU astronomy undergrad alum Trinity Webb and OSU astro PhD student @astrojennifer.bsky.social led this Chandra program showing diffuse X-rays coincident with very young stars identified with JWST! Here's this great work: ui.adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2024ApJ....

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