Vivian U
@justtheletteru.bsky.social
Associate Scientist at Caltech/IPAC studying black holes and galaxy mergers with a nerdy sense of humor. Roman Proposal Lead. < 15 minutes of fame from PBS NOVA showcasing JWST science. TEDxMB 2024 speaker. Views are my own.
🌐 https://vivian-u.github.io/
🌐 https://vivian-u.github.io/
There's been so much going on but I'd like to take a quick pause and share the happy news that postdoc Justin Kader's paper on an exemplary precessing jet-driven galactic-scale outflow has just been accepted in Science!! Can't wait to share the results soon 🥹 1/3
November 6, 2025 at 6:58 PM
There's been so much going on but I'd like to take a quick pause and share the happy news that postdoc Justin Kader's paper on an exemplary precessing jet-driven galactic-scale outflow has just been accepted in Science!! Can't wait to share the results soon 🥹 1/3
Reposted by Vivian U
BIG NEWS: The Ready, Set, Roman! Training Series is here!
Get hands-on with tools, data, & workflows to prepare for the Roman mission.
📅 Kicks off Nov 04, 1 PM EDT
💡 Title: “Tools for Exploring Roman’s Core Community Surveys”
🔗 bit.ly/3KNDElA
#ReadySetRoman
Get hands-on with tools, data, & workflows to prepare for the Roman mission.
📅 Kicks off Nov 04, 1 PM EDT
💡 Title: “Tools for Exploring Roman’s Core Community Surveys”
🔗 bit.ly/3KNDElA
#ReadySetRoman
October 21, 2025 at 3:39 PM
BIG NEWS: The Ready, Set, Roman! Training Series is here!
Get hands-on with tools, data, & workflows to prepare for the Roman mission.
📅 Kicks off Nov 04, 1 PM EDT
💡 Title: “Tools for Exploring Roman’s Core Community Surveys”
🔗 bit.ly/3KNDElA
#ReadySetRoman
Get hands-on with tools, data, & workflows to prepare for the Roman mission.
📅 Kicks off Nov 04, 1 PM EDT
💡 Title: “Tools for Exploring Roman’s Core Community Surveys”
🔗 bit.ly/3KNDElA
#ReadySetRoman
Reposted by Vivian U
Less than a year later, once again feeling anxious for my remaining fabulous JPL colleagues. 😬
Feeling anxious for my many fabulous JPL colleagues tomorrow with another round of layoffs.
www.jpl.nasa.gov/news/jpl-wor...
www.jpl.nasa.gov/news/jpl-wor...
JPL Workforce Update
Workforce statement and memo to employees
www.jpl.nasa.gov
October 13, 2025 at 6:17 PM
Less than a year later, once again feeling anxious for my remaining fabulous JPL colleagues. 😬
I know there are currently much bigger problems in the world out there, but also:
deadlines + sick kids = 😵💫🤯😭
deadlines + sick kids = 😵💫🤯😭
October 13, 2025 at 8:29 PM
I know there are currently much bigger problems in the world out there, but also:
deadlines + sick kids = 😵💫🤯😭
deadlines + sick kids = 😵💫🤯😭
Momentarily confused by an email with the subject line "Do you have your CGM ready?" and was thinking that it's a message advertising an astro conference only to find that it came from a previous medical center...
October 8, 2025 at 1:51 PM
Momentarily confused by an email with the subject line "Do you have your CGM ready?" and was thinking that it's a message advertising an astro conference only to find that it came from a previous medical center...
🎉 A huge congrats to Tufts grad Edgar Vidal on the first (of hopefully several) paper from our FIRESIDE (Far-InfraRed Extragalactic Survey and Instrument Design Exploration) project! It has been submitted to ApJ and is out on arXiv today! 🔭🧪 #JWST #MIRI #obscuredAGN #FIR 1/
arxiv.org/abs/2509.15331
arxiv.org/abs/2509.15331
Modeling the JWST MIRI Counts, Insights Into the Source Properties and Role of Dust-Obscured AGN
Understanding the co-evolution of galaxies and active galactic nuclei (AGN) requires accurate modeling of dust-obscured systems. Recent surveys using the Mid Infrared Instrument (MIRI) onboard the Jam...
arxiv.org
September 22, 2025 at 6:01 PM
🎉 A huge congrats to Tufts grad Edgar Vidal on the first (of hopefully several) paper from our FIRESIDE (Far-InfraRed Extragalactic Survey and Instrument Design Exploration) project! It has been submitted to ApJ and is out on arXiv today! 🔭🧪 #JWST #MIRI #obscuredAGN #FIR 1/
arxiv.org/abs/2509.15331
arxiv.org/abs/2509.15331
Reposted by Vivian U
thoughts and prayers
September 10, 2025 at 9:03 PM
thoughts and prayers
Reposted by Vivian U
AAS Social Media Task Force
The AAS is seeking members for a social media task force to strategically increase the Society's social media presence, including communicating the value of astronomy & science funding to the broader public and promoting advocacy actions. docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1F... 🔭
The AAS is seeking members for a social media task force to strategically increase the Society's social media presence, including communicating the value of astronomy & science funding to the broader public and promoting advocacy actions. docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1F... 🔭
Apply to Join the AAS Social Media Task Force
The AAS is seeking members for a social media task force, to strategically increase the social media presence of the Society, including communicating the value of astronomy and science funding to the ...
docs.google.com
September 10, 2025 at 6:24 PM
AAS Social Media Task Force
The AAS is seeking members for a social media task force to strategically increase the Society's social media presence, including communicating the value of astronomy & science funding to the broader public and promoting advocacy actions. docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1F... 🔭
The AAS is seeking members for a social media task force to strategically increase the Society's social media presence, including communicating the value of astronomy & science funding to the broader public and promoting advocacy actions. docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1F... 🔭
TIL: dear fellow astronomers, if you're ever looking for AAS info online, be very specific. A generic search might just lead you to a different American society—one with a cover photo and icon that can send chills down your spine... unless you happen to like crawlers 🥶🕷️
September 9, 2025 at 11:12 PM
TIL: dear fellow astronomers, if you're ever looking for AAS info online, be very specific. A generic search might just lead you to a different American society—one with a cover photo and icon that can send chills down your spine... unless you happen to like crawlers 🥶🕷️
This was a great experience giving back to the community whose taxpayer dollars help funded my research - and learning that they deemed it worthy 🥹
@caltechipac.bsky.social
@caltechipac.bsky.social
The AAS is pleased to celebrate 12 astronomers who served as AAS Harlow Shapley Visiting Lecturers! These Shapley Lecturers visited a number of community colleges and schools across the US to share their science and inspire wonder about the universe. aas.org/posts/news/2... 🔭
September 5, 2025 at 5:08 PM
This was a great experience giving back to the community whose taxpayer dollars help funded my research - and learning that they deemed it worthy 🥹
@caltechipac.bsky.social
@caltechipac.bsky.social
Paper day 🎉🔭 Congrats to my student Raymond Remigio on acceptance of his 1st first-author paper! We mapped [O III] gas in nearby Sy 1s with @keckobservatory.bsky.social: gas kinematics align w/ stars at large scales, but many show twists/outflows near nuclei + large NLRs arxiv.org/abs/2508.14304
![NLR size vs [OIII] luminosity plot](https://cdn.bsky.app/img/feed_thumbnail/plain/did:plc:sxsg5dpz6fz3gveh462lxrn7/bafkreiftv3fwcqzy5zeqqkb4xu2hy3pelaxdzfqdnll76h5h5yhje4h33a@jpeg)
August 21, 2025 at 2:10 AM
Paper day 🎉🔭 Congrats to my student Raymond Remigio on acceptance of his 1st first-author paper! We mapped [O III] gas in nearby Sy 1s with @keckobservatory.bsky.social: gas kinematics align w/ stars at large scales, but many show twists/outflows near nuclei + large NLRs arxiv.org/abs/2508.14304
Safe travels @marinabianchin.bsky.social, all the best with everything. Thanks for the past 3 years, you’ll be missed!
August 16, 2025 at 2:04 AM
Safe travels @marinabianchin.bsky.social, all the best with everything. Thanks for the past 3 years, you’ll be missed!
Missing JustinK & Yiqing, but this may be the last time our group gathers for lunch before Hajar leaves for PhD, @marinabianchin.bsky.social leaves for next postdoc, and JustinP leaves Cal-bridge summer program. With JustinK's departure in a month, this is one of those end-of-an-era moments for me 🥺
August 8, 2025 at 8:53 PM
Missing JustinK & Yiqing, but this may be the last time our group gathers for lunch before Hajar leaves for PhD, @marinabianchin.bsky.social leaves for next postdoc, and JustinP leaves Cal-bridge summer program. With JustinK's departure in a month, this is one of those end-of-an-era moments for me 🥺
Reposted by Vivian U
COVID is airborne and still with us, evidenced by hospitalisations and deaths data. Many feel in a better place than at the height of the pandemic, but protections still matter, such as ventilation, booster vaccines, and testing. Long COVID, maligned by some, continues to affect millions of lives.
August 6, 2025 at 8:55 AM
COVID is airborne and still with us, evidenced by hospitalisations and deaths data. Many feel in a better place than at the height of the pandemic, but protections still matter, such as ventilation, booster vaccines, and testing. Long COVID, maligned by some, continues to affect millions of lives.
Reposted by Vivian U
Nice essay about a project near and dear to my heart!
NASA's Habitable Worlds Observatory: the future (or end) of NASA science
At the end of July, hundreds of scientists convened to plan NASA's upcoming astrophysics flagship mission. Will the US allow it to happen?
bigthink.com
August 6, 2025 at 12:35 AM
Nice essay about a project near and dear to my heart!
Reposted by Vivian U
what a week for our future✨ #HWO25
🧵coming soon🔭🧪☄️
@mmacgreg.bsky.social @hbhammel.bsky.social @bmacastro.bsky.social @dawngelino.bsky.social
@aussiastronomer.bsky.social @stsci.edu @aura-astronomy.bsky.social @justtheletteru.bsky.social @vividreams.bsky.social @leefeinberg.bsky.social +500 others
🧵coming soon🔭🧪☄️
@mmacgreg.bsky.social @hbhammel.bsky.social @bmacastro.bsky.social @dawngelino.bsky.social
@aussiastronomer.bsky.social @stsci.edu @aura-astronomy.bsky.social @justtheletteru.bsky.social @vividreams.bsky.social @leefeinberg.bsky.social +500 others
August 1, 2025 at 8:27 PM
what a week for our future✨ #HWO25
🧵coming soon🔭🧪☄️
@mmacgreg.bsky.social @hbhammel.bsky.social @bmacastro.bsky.social @dawngelino.bsky.social
@aussiastronomer.bsky.social @stsci.edu @aura-astronomy.bsky.social @justtheletteru.bsky.social @vividreams.bsky.social @leefeinberg.bsky.social +500 others
🧵coming soon🔭🧪☄️
@mmacgreg.bsky.social @hbhammel.bsky.social @bmacastro.bsky.social @dawngelino.bsky.social
@aussiastronomer.bsky.social @stsci.edu @aura-astronomy.bsky.social @justtheletteru.bsky.social @vividreams.bsky.social @leefeinberg.bsky.social +500 others
There. I've now talked about IMBHs. (Photo courtesy of Chris Packam)
July 31, 2025 at 3:33 AM
There. I've now talked about IMBHs. (Photo courtesy of Chris Packam)
Reposted by Vivian U
Like Vivian, I’m excited to represent the ExoPAG community on this new Science Interest Group! And very happy to work with this great team. ❤️🔥
Happy to share that I've been selected to join the leadership team of the new Habitable Worlds Observatory Science Interest Group, representing the Cosmic Origins community in particular. I look forward to working with my awesome co-chairs on furthering this inspiring mission! #HWO25
July 28, 2025 at 6:15 PM
Like Vivian, I’m excited to represent the ExoPAG community on this new Science Interest Group! And very happy to work with this great team. ❤️🔥
Reposted by Vivian U
Folks should be following @drjovian.bsky.social for a play by play of the #HWO25 conference this week!
July 29, 2025 at 1:33 PM
Folks should be following @drjovian.bsky.social for a play by play of the #HWO25 conference this week!
Reposted by Vivian U
I am hiring a postdoc to work with me on time domain astrophysics, primarily in prep for Rubin LSST. Job ad here: lnkd.in/esamU7gy
Please share! :)
Start date is flexible & can be as early as this Fall. There have been Q's about the application portal, so do not hesitate to email me for help!
Please share! :)
Start date is flexible & can be as early as this Fall. There have been Q's about the application portal, so do not hesitate to email me for help!
LinkedIn
This link will take you to a page that’s not on LinkedIn
lnkd.in
July 18, 2025 at 6:24 PM
I am hiring a postdoc to work with me on time domain astrophysics, primarily in prep for Rubin LSST. Job ad here: lnkd.in/esamU7gy
Please share! :)
Start date is flexible & can be as early as this Fall. There have been Q's about the application portal, so do not hesitate to email me for help!
Please share! :)
Start date is flexible & can be as early as this Fall. There have been Q's about the application portal, so do not hesitate to email me for help!
Not one but TWO papers from my group are published on ApJ within this past week! 🎉🎉 Tianmu Gao led the work on compiling nuclear SEDs of (U)LIRGs; Justin Kader studied cluster winds as engines of feedback in starburst galaxy 🔭
iopscience.iop.org/article/10.3...
iopscience.iop.org/article/10.3...
iopscience.iop.org/article/10.3...
iopscience.iop.org/article/10.3...
July 30, 2025 at 2:31 AM
Not one but TWO papers from my group are published on ApJ within this past week! 🎉🎉 Tianmu Gao led the work on compiling nuclear SEDs of (U)LIRGs; Justin Kader studied cluster winds as engines of feedback in starburst galaxy 🔭
iopscience.iop.org/article/10.3...
iopscience.iop.org/article/10.3...
iopscience.iop.org/article/10.3...
iopscience.iop.org/article/10.3...
Happy to share that I've been selected to join the leadership team of the new Habitable Worlds Observatory Science Interest Group, representing the Cosmic Origins community in particular. I look forward to working with my awesome co-chairs on furthering this inspiring mission! #HWO25
July 28, 2025 at 6:12 PM
Happy to share that I've been selected to join the leadership team of the new Habitable Worlds Observatory Science Interest Group, representing the Cosmic Origins community in particular. I look forward to working with my awesome co-chairs on furthering this inspiring mission! #HWO25
Reposted by Vivian U
Nearly 3,000 people are leaving NASA, and this director is one of them arstechnica.com/space/2025/0...
Nearly 3,000 people are leaving NASA, and this director is one of them
Makenzie Lystrup’s departure from Goddard comes soon after the resignation of the director of JPL.
arstechnica.com
July 22, 2025 at 12:02 PM
Nearly 3,000 people are leaving NASA, and this director is one of them arstechnica.com/space/2025/0...