{"638513":{"#nid":"638513","#data":{"type":"news","title":"Physics Student\u2019s Search for Precious Metals from Neutron Stars Hits the Funding Motherlode ","body":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003ENeutron stars collide, and a swarm of heavy elements like gold and platinum shoot out into the universe.\u0026nbsp;\u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/physics.gatech.edu\/user\/danielle-skinner\u0022\u003EDanielle Skinner\u003C\/a\u003E\u0026nbsp;wants to learn more about that process, and thanks to\u0026nbsp;\u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/\u0022\u003ENASA\u003C\/a\u003E, she won\u0026rsquo;t have to worry about funding that research for the next three years.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003ESkinner, a graduate student of associate professor\u0026nbsp;\u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/physics.gatech.edu\/user\/john-wise\u0022\u003EJohn Wise\u003C\/a\u003E\u0026nbsp;in the School of Physics, is the winner of a NASA\u0026nbsp;\u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/astrobiology.nasa.gov\/funding\/future-investigators-in-nasa-earth-and-space-sci-2\/\u0022\u003EFINESST\u003C\/a\u003E\u0026nbsp;(Future Investigators in NASA Earth and Space Science and Technology) Award. Only 19 of 158 astrophysics proposals were selected for the fellowship.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003E\u0026ldquo;I was surprised to see that I had been selected,\u0026rdquo; says Skinner, a graduate teaching assistant. \u0026ldquo;I had to read the email a few times over for it to really sink in.\u0026rdquo;\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003E\u0026ldquo;I was ecstatic when I first received news of Danielle\u0026#39;s fellowship,\u0026rdquo; Wise says. \u0026ldquo;I am very proud of her. This independent fellowship is very prestigious, and gives Danielle the freedom to explore the mysteries of\u0026nbsp;the early universe.\u0026rdquo;\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003EThrough\u0026nbsp;the FINESST program, NASA\u0026rsquo;s Science Mission Directorate (SMD) \u0026ldquo;solicits proposals from accredited U.S. universities and other eligible organizations for graduate student-designed and performed research projects that contribute to\u0026nbsp;SMD\u0026rsquo;s science, technology and exploration goals,\u0026rdquo; according to a space agency press release.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003E\u0026ldquo;FINESST\u0026nbsp;awards research grants with a research mentor as the principal investigator and the listed graduate student listed as the student participant. Wise, who is also a member of Georgia Tech\u0026rsquo;s\u0026nbsp;\u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/cra.gatech.edu\/\u0022\u003ECenter for Relativistic Astrophysics\u003C\/a\u003E, is listed as principal investigator (PI) and Skinner is the future investigator (FI).\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003E\u0026ldquo;Nucleosynthesis from Neutron Star Mergers in the Early Universe\u0026rdquo; is the title of Skinner\u0026rsquo;s proposal. It will take Wise and Skinner back to the early stages of the universe through simulations. An ongoing quest in astrophysics is understanding the evolution of the periodic table, and in particular, figuring out where some of the heaviest elements, like gold and platinum, actually came from.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003E\u0026ldquo;We think that in the early universe, merging neutron stars could provide the right environment for these elements to form, and eventually, those heavy elements would end up in stars that we see today,\u0026rdquo; she says.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003ESkinner will run a series of simulations where she models neutron star mergers with varying parameters to try to find those with heavy metal abundances.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003E\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n","summary":null,"format":"limited_html"}],"field_subtitle":[{"value":"Danielle Skinner wins NASA grant targeting graduate students "}],"field_summary":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EThe collision of neutron stars during the formation of the early universe resulted in precious metals like gold and platinum soaring through the heavens. A School of Physics graduate student will get NASA funding to explore that heavy metal-making process through simulations.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n","format":"limited_html"}],"field_summary_sentence":[{"value":"Danielle Skinner wins NASA grant targeting graduate students "}],"uid":"34434","created_gmt":"2020-08-27 19:44:09","changed_gmt":"2020-08-27 19:54:00","author":"Renay San Miguel","boilerplate_text":"","field_publication":"","field_article_url":"","dateline":{"date":"2020-08-27T00:00:00-04:00","iso_date":"2020-08-27T00:00:00-04:00","tz":"America\/New_York"},"extras":[],"hg_media":{"638514":{"id":"638514","type":"image","title":"Danielle Skinner, graduate student and NASA FINESST Award winner, School of Physics ","body":null,"created":"1598557615","gmt_created":"2020-08-27 19:46:55","changed":"1598557912","gmt_changed":"2020-08-27 19:51:52","alt":"","file":{"fid":"242806","name":"Danielle Skinner.jpg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/Danielle%20Skinner_0.jpg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/Danielle%20Skinner_0.jpg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":145569,"path_740":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/images\/Danielle%20Skinner_0.jpg?itok=poSyksj7"}},"627361":{"id":"627361","type":"image","title":"John Wise","body":null,"created":"1570623279","gmt_created":"2019-10-09 12:14:39","changed":"1570623279","gmt_changed":"2019-10-09 12:14:39","alt":"","file":{"fid":"238861","name":"2018 John Wise.SQjpg_.jpg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/2018%20John%20Wise.SQjpg_.jpg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/2018%20John%20Wise.SQjpg_.jpg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":815457,"path_740":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/images\/2018%20John%20Wise.SQjpg_.jpg?itok=8_3D0uV4"}}},"media_ids":["638514","627361"],"related_links":[{"url":"https:\/\/cos.gatech.edu\/science-matters\/season-1-episode-5-visualizing-birth-galaxies","title":"ScienceMatters, S1 E5: Visualizing the Birth of Galaxies"},{"url":"http:\/\/cosmo.gatech.edu","title":"Wise Lab: Computational Cosmology at Georgia Tech"},{"url":"https:\/\/cra.gatech.edu","title":"Center for Relativistic Astrophysics"}],"groups":[{"id":"1278","name":"College of Sciences"}],"categories":[{"id":"150","name":"Physics and Physical Sciences"}],"keywords":[{"id":"4896","name":"College of Sciences"},{"id":"166937","name":"School of Physics"},{"id":"185718","name":"Danielle Skinner"},{"id":"12044","name":"John Wise"},{"id":"185719","name":"early universe"},{"id":"185720","name":"NASA FINESST award"}],"core_research_areas":[{"id":"39501","name":"People and Technology"}],"news_room_topics":[],"event_categories":[],"invited_audience":[],"affiliations":[],"classification":[],"areas_of_expertise":[],"news_and_recent_appearances":[],"phone":[],"contact":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003ERenay San Miguel\u003Cbr \/\u003E\r\nCommunications Officer\u003Cbr \/\u003E\r\nCollege of Sciences\u003Cbr \/\u003E\r\n404-894-5209\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003E\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n","format":"limited_html"}],"email":["renay.san@cos.gatech.edu"],"slides":[],"orientation":[],"userdata":""}}}