Dr. Ilsa Cooke
Elsa presented her work on a laboratory study of the cosmic ray bombardment of icy troilite at Cosmic Rays 4: the salt of the star formation recipe in Pisa, Italy this October. This meeting, held every two years, brings together researchers in fields of observations, theory, models, simulations, and laboratory studies. The aim is to share ideas, present results, and discuss future challenges to better understand the role of cosmic rays in astrophysics, star formation, and astrochemistry.
Carina presented a poster about her work on the photodesorption efficiency of O(3P) from water ices at the European Conference on Laboratory Astrophysics (ECLA) this September in Heidelberg, Germany. The topic of this meeting was “Exploring the cold universe”, focused on understanding the cosmic evolution and emergence of chemical complexity across interstellar clouds, protoplanetary disks, icy bodies, and planetary atmospheres. ECLA brings researchers across a broad range of fields together, including laboratory astrophysics, spectroscopy, reaction kinetics, and surface and ice chemistry, to progress our understanding and characterization of the physical and chemical processes operating in space.
Members of the UBC Astrochem lab presented at the Aromatic Universe meeting in London, Ontario, in early July. The conference brought together chemists, physicists and astronomers interested in polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons in space. Tom, Sam and Reace presented posters about their work on aromatic molecules, their derivatives, and their reactivity in the cold interstellar medium. Ilsa gave a talk on the detection and formation of aromatic nitriles in TMC-1. Outside of the conference, they enjoyed excursions to Pinery Provincial Park and Niagara Falls!
Haley, Tom, Elsa, Reace, and Grace gave presentations on their research at the 2026 edition of the International Symposium on Molecular Spectroscopy in Urbana-Champaign, Illinois this June. This interdisciplinary conference covers a wide range of topics, from theory to experiment, from gas-phase to condensed-phase, from low resolution to ultra-high resolution, from microwaves to gamma rays, and from fundamental science to applications such as astronomy and atmospheric science. Congrats to all for another exciting and interesting conference!
Nyx and Grace participated in the Western Canadian Undergraduate Chemistry Conference hosted at UBC this May. This conference highlights excellence in undergraduate research by Chemistry and Biochemistry students all across Western Canada, while providing unique learning experiences for all who attend.
Congratulations to Grace and Nyx for their wonderful talks and posters, and a big congrats to Grace for winning the oral presentation prize for the Physical, Theoretical, & Computational Division!
Ilsa is one of 24 early career scientists in chemistry, physics, and astronomy named to the 2026 Class of Cottrell Scholars. The program honours and helps to develop teacher-scholars who are recognized for both their outstanding research programs and demonstration of academic leadership. Cottrell Scholars are selected by the RSCA (Research Corporation for Science Advancement) through a rigorous peer-review process of applications from public and private research universities and primarily undergraduate institutions in the United States and Canada. Proposals for the award incorporate both research and science education. Read more about the RSCA and the winning Cottrell Scholar proposals here. Congratulations Ilsa!
GOTHAM, including work from UBC Astrochem Lab members, recently published Centimeter-Wave Rotational Spectroscopy of Ethynylbenzonitriles: Structural Analysis and Astronomical Search in The Journal of Physical Chemistry A. Read more here!
Congratulations to Ilsa and Elsa for receiving funding from the UBC Faculty of Graduate and Postdoctoral Studies (G+PS) PhD Collab pilot program for their project “How to build a living planet: the ingredients for life on other worlds”. The primary objectives of this program are to provide new opportunities for PhD students to build competencies and networks in collaborative, inter/transdisciplinary scholarly work, and to advance collaboration as a desired research and learning mode across disciplines to enrich scholarship. This will be a collaboration with Dr. Michelle Kunimoto (Physics & Astronomy), Dr. Sean Crowe (Earth, Ocean & Atmospheric Science; Microbiology & Immunology), Justine Obidowski (PHYS), and Shea Thorne (EOAS). Read more here!
Legacy data from the GOTHAM spectral line survey of TMC-1 has recently been made public. More than 1 400 hours of observational data on the Green Bank Telescope is now available to the global scientific community, facilitating exciting new opportunities for collaboration and cross-disciplinary discoveries. Read more about the release here!
Congratulations to Elsa for passing her comprehensive exam and being admitted to candidacy! As is tradition, photo evidence of studying in the wild is attached.