UNC Astro Blog – Day 0 – Meet your TAs!

Julia (she/her):

Hi! I’m Julia. I recently graduated from University of Maryland with my Bachelor’s degree in Physics and Astronomy. Next fall, I will be a PhD student in the Geophysics Department of UChicago. In graduate school, I plan to study climate modeling (of Earth), although my current research focuses on improving modeling of clouds within simulations of hot Jupiter and ultra-hot Jupiter atmospheres (these are gas giant exoplanets with temperatures greater than 1000 and 2200 K, respectively).  

I enjoy hiking, working out, reading (almost anything), and cooking. I’m so excited to meet you all! 

Michelle (she/her): 

Hi, my name is Michelle Somogyi! I am a rising senior at the University of Chicago! I am an Astrophysics (Variant Chemistry) major. I currently work in a research team that analyzes century-old astronomical plates taken at the Yerkes Observatory. With these plates, we are able to look back at different stars and nebulae and compare the universe from a century ago to now! Another interesting part of my research is learning about the observatory’s history and about the people who have studied there, like Hubble and Barnard. I am also a philosophy minor, which helps me look at astronomy problems differently.  

I am originally from Costa Rica, but moved to Florida at a young age, so much of my family is still there. Some of my hobbies include ballet, cooking, and just being around my friends. I look forward to meeting everyone, seeing what everyone’s different hobbies are, and guiding everyone in their astrophysics journey this summer. 

Zach (he/him): 

Hi all, my name is Zach Savery. I will be one of your teaching and resident assistants throughout the SSP astronomy program at UNC. I will be a fourth year graduate student at the University of Delaware this fall. My research focuses on studying pulsating white dwarfs, which are the leftover core of main sequence stars like the Sun. I’m from North Carolina and went to undergrad at UNC Asheville in the mountains (where it wasn’t as hot haha). I got a Bachelor of Science in Physic with Minors in Astronomy and Mathematics. My favorite class I took while an undergrad was called Indigenous Perspectives on the Sky. For hobbies, I like to read, play games, watch movies/TV, and go for walks/hikes. I like fantasy, sci-fi, science, and history when choosing what books, games, and shows. I really enjoy playing games in the Pokémon series. 

Youssef (he/him):

My name is Youssef El Gharably (you can call me Youssef). My pronouns are he/Him, and I am one of your Teaching Assistants/Residential Advisers for this program! I just graduated college in May with a Bachelor of Arts in Astrophysics and Applied Math from Franklin and Marshall College, and I am starting my PhD in Quantum Science and Engineering at the University of Delaware in late July right after this program! 

I was born and raised in Egypt, and I have never left the country until I got into my undergraduate college and moved to the US three years ago. If you ever struggle with being an international student, I am here for you! I enjoy cooking, listening to music, playing games, having meaningful deep conversations, and driving in long road trips through nature 🙂 

Over my undergraduate career, I have worked as a research assistant in Pulsar Surveying, Chemical Composition of Protoplanetary nebulae, building a Minesweeping robot for Ukraine sponsored by NATO, using machine learning algorithms in studying distant galaxies, and I did an undergraduate honors thesis on the applications of Artificial Neural Networks in the Quantum Many-Body problem.  

I am excited to work with you!