Lab News

This Spring, the UBC Astrochemistry Lab launched an outreach program aimed at local high school students. Templeton Secondary student Eryn Grahn worked with our outreach coordinator to build and test a low-cost radio telescope, and was able to detect atomic hydrogen signatures from the galactic arms of the Milky Way. Eryn chose to base her final capstone project on this telescope, and was chosen by her teachers to present her findings at Temp Talks, an annual showcase of STEM related projects at her high school. 

Through this project, Eryn displayed an exceptional attention to detail and science communication skills, something that will serve her well as she explores her interest in astrophysics. We wish Eryn luck in her future endeavours!

Some of our research was recently highlighted by UBC Science. Read more in the article here!

Matteo is a visiting Physics PhD student from the University of Trento in Italy. He mainly focuses on studying gas-phase ion-molecule reaction processes involving beyond-the-second-row elements in the interstellar medium such as silicon, sulfur, and phosphorus. Starting in April, he will be working with our group and the Momose group to further investigate sulfur chemistry in the ISM. Welcome Matteo!

The UBC Astrochem Lab attended the American Chemical Society Spring 2025 Meeting in San Diego this March. Ilsa co-organized A Symposium to Honor Eric Herbst’s Contributions to Our Understanding of the Molecular Universe, facilitating discussions of exciting current and future directions in astrochemistry with researchers from across the globe. Carina, Elsa, Reace, and Tom additionally presented their research at the PHYS Poster Session. Congrats to all for a successful and insightful meeting!

Reace recently took a trip to the Green Bank Observatory in West Virginia to attend an Observer Training Workshop. He is now a certified remote observer for the Green Bank Telescope, used in the GOTHAM collaboration. Happy molecule hunting!

GOTHAM has recently detected all three isomers of cyanopyrene in the Taurus molecular cloud (TMC-1) using data collected with the 100-m Green Bank Telescope (GBT). Cyanopyrene is currently the largest molecule ever identified by radio astronomy in the ISM.

Read more about the detection of 1-cyanopyrene in Science, and 2- and 4-cyanopyrene in Nature Astronomy. Press releases and media highlights can also be found on our Publications page.

Congratulations to Carina and Reace for passing their comprehensive exams and officially being admitted to candidacy! Photo evidence of studying hard in the wild is attached.