George Ellery Hale Fellowships

University of Colorado Boulder

The George Ellery Hale (HALE) Fellowships include a 2-year Postdoctoral Fellowship, offered each year to a postdoctoral scientist; and a 3-year Graduate Fellowship, offered each year to two graduate students. Additionally, this program also appoints a 3-year visiting faculty.

The HALE Graduate Fellowship is designed to give students the freedom to explore a variety of solar physics research paths. The award supports students through the early years of their graduate education—i.e., years 1–3—at which point they should explore other funding options with their thesis advisor. Because of this, they are generally offered to incoming students, but those more advanced in their education may also be eligible.

To create an environment within which HALE graduate fellows can thrive, they are encouraged to pursue research with multiple mentors before deciding on a thesis project. A research rotation element consisting of half a semester research projects mentored by CU Boulder and/or NSO scientists, allows students to work on four different projects during their first year. Upon project completion—i.e., twice a semester—students give a short half an hour lunch talk on their work to their cohort of fellows, mentors, and interested scientists. This approach gives students an opportunity to explore research possibilities, take full advantage of the self-defining aspects of the research opportunity, and broaden their exposure to topical solar and space physics.

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Meet our Fellows

List of current Hale fellows and faculty

Name Appointment Hale Tenure Area of Study Publications during Fellowship
Cori Laughrey Graduate Fellow 2023 – 2026 Publications Link
Ayla Weitz Graduate Fellow 2023 – 2026 Publications Link
Parker Hinton Graduate Fellow 2023 – 2025 Publications Link
Sarah Bruce Graduate Fellow 2022 – 2025 Publications Link
James Crowley Graduate Fellow 2022 – 2025 Publications Link

List of past Hale fellows and faculty

Name Appointment Hale Tenure Area of Study Publications during Fellowship
Jorge Romero Minaya Graduate Fellow 2021 – 2024 Publications Link
Catherine Blume Graduate Fellow 2020 – 2023 Publications Link
Whitney Powers Graduate Fellow 2022 – 2023 Publications Link
Cole Tamburri Graduate Fellow 2020 – 2023

Solar flare energetics

Publications Link
Imogen Cresswell Graduate Fellow 2019 – 2022 Publications Link
Neeraj Kulkarni Graduate Fellow 2018 – 2021 Publications Link
Johnathan Stauffer Graduate Fellow 2018 – 2021

Cool plasma diagnostics with CO lines and millimeter continuum

Publications Link
Lily Kromyda Graduate Fellow 2017 – 2020

Heat flux, energy, mass and momentum transport in the quiet sun and active regions

Publications Link
Amanda White Graduate Fellow 2017 – 2020

I am working on a method of understanding and deriving the polarization behavior of many-layer metal mirror coatings. The ability to make exact polarization measurements is crucial to the Daniel K. Inouye Solar Telescope’s (DKIST) success; DKIST requires the ability to observe small-scale solar structures and take spectro-polarimetric measurements to an unprecedented accuracy and sensitivity however the metal coatings that protect telescope mirror have never been carefully characterized before. Using the NSO Laboratory Spectro-Polarimeter (NLSP), small mirrors that were fabricated alongside the large mirrors for DKIST and its instruments (called witness samples), and a mathematical formalism known as Berreman calculus, I am working to be able to better predict the instrument induced polarization behavior and constrain modeling uncertainties. With this work we will be able to design better optics in the future and accurately calibrate DKIST.

Publications Link
Feng Chen Graduate Fellow 2017 – 2019

Emergence of magnetic field from interior to corona

Publications Link
Momchil Molnar Graduate Fellow 2016 – 2019

Mass and energy transport throughout the chromosphere and the transition region

Publications Link
Gabriel (Gabo) Ortiz-Pena Graduate Fellow 2016 – 2019

Fluid dynamics and solar magnetism

Publications Link
Avery Schiff Graduate Fellow 2017 – 2019

MHD wave heating simulations of flux tubes in the solar corona

Publications Link
Alicia Aarnio Graduate Fellow 2016 – 2018

Evolution of activity on solar-like stars

Publications Link
Evan Anders Graduate Fellow 2015 – 2018

Fundamental properties of stratified convection

Publications Link
Chris Gilbert Graduate Fellow 2016 – 2018

Alfvén heating of the solar corona

Publications Link
Loren Matilsky Graduate Fellow 2017 – 2018

Astrophysical fluid dynamics, turbulence theory, and dynamical systems

Publications Link
Piyush Agrawal Graduate Fellow 2014 – 2017

Transport of small-scale flux elements in the solar photosphere

Publications Link
Fang Fang Graduate Fellow 2015 – 2017

Global interior dynamo, magnetic flux emergence, and coronal eruptive events

Publications Link
Andrew Sturner Graduate Fellow 2014 – 2017

Physics of magnetic reconnection

Publications Link
Jean-François Cossette Graduate Fellow 2014 – 2016

Finite-volume methods for global magnetohydrodynamical (MHD) simulations of the solar convection zone

Publications Link
Ryan Orvedahl Graduate Fellow 2014 – 2016

Computational fluid dynamics of magnetized systems

Publications Link
Ben Greer Graduate Fellow 2013 – 2016

Helioseismology dynamics of near-surface solar convection

Publications Link
Briana Ingermann Graduate Fellow 2014 – 2014 Publications Link
Tyler Behm Graduate Fellow 2013 – 2013 Publications Link
Adrian Fraser Postdoctoral Fellow 2022 – 2024 Publications Link
Juan Carlos Trelles-Arjona Postdoctoral Fellow 2022 – 2024 Publications Link
Illa Losada Postdoctoral Fellow 2020 – 2022 Publications Link
Benoit Tremblay Postdoctoral Fellow 2019 – 2022 Publications Link
Lydia Korre Postdoctoral Fellow 2018 – 2021 Publications Link
Yang Wang Visiting Faculty 2021 – 2024 Publications Link
Ivan Milic Visiting Faculty 2018 – 2021 Publications Link
Axel Brandenburg Visiting Faculty 2016 – 2018

Magnetic field generation from turbulent motions with applications to the Sun and stars

Publications Link

Sample Graduate Projects

With its access to the best observational tools and scientific expertise, the NSO is a hub for the solar physics community and fosters broad, international collaborations. Boulder is a major center for this field and draws many solar physicists to visit on a regular basis. As a graduate student, this will expose you to many topics and researchers in the field and allow you to develop your own strong collaborations and interesting projects.

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COLLAGE

The Hale COLLAGE course is designed to give students exposure to material in solar and space physics that is not taught in the standard curriculum. One Hale COLLAGE course is taught every spring for 3 credits.

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Why Study…

The Sun is of course our closest star, and as such is a vital foundation to our theories and understanding of stellar atmospheres, magnetohydrodynamics, dynamos, oscillations, abundances, flares and coronal mass ejections and other basic stellar phenomena. Studies of the Sun are increasingly important, especially as our observations of these phenomena on numerous other stars quickly multiply with new missions and techniques.

Why Solar Physics

It’s our closest star…

Why NSO

A world-leader in solar physics…

Why Boulder

Providing opportunities…

NSO Student Perks

ensuring your needs are met…

How to Apply!

The Hale Graduate Fellowship is an award offered to incoming graduate students enrolled in the Astrophysical and Planetary Sciences Department. The award is offered at the discretion of the Hale committee and there is no external application process.

For more information please email Mark Rast.