
Wellesley Extragalactic Explorers
Extragalactic Research Group at Wellesley College
We study the birth and growth of galaxies since Cosmic Dawn.
If you're interested in joining our group, follow these steps:
Take ASTR 107, which is offered in both semesters.
Explore the research projects in our group.
Schedule a meeting with Prof. Lamiya Mowla via email and start the Onboarding tutorial (can be done concurrently with ASTR 107).
If you remain interested (yay!), proceed to the Launchpad sections and start your apprenticeship.
Pathway through WEE:
First semester: ASTR 107 and on-boarding tutorial.
Second semester: Participate in an apprenticeship (ASTR/PHYS 250H/350H or through FYAP/SERP).
Further semesters: Interested and industrious students will be invited to continue as Research Assistants (paid position) or enroll in ASTR/PHYS 250/350.
Summer internship: Students can apply to work with one of our collaborators at MIT (UROP), Harvard Center for Astrophysics, Tufts University, Space Telescope Science Institute, University of Colorado Boulder, or with us here at Whitin Observatory through the Science Center Summer Research Program.
Eligible students are encouraged to apply to the First Year Apprentice Program and the Sophomore Early Research Program.
We are not accepting students for Summer 2025, but positions will be available for Fall 2025!
Hanna Harmon'25 presenting at Ruhlman 2024
Julia Sherman'25 presenting at Ruhlman 2024
Keya Amundsen'26 presenting at Ruhlman 2024
Alejandra Rodriguez'25 presenting at Ruhlman 2024
CANUCS Team Meeting 2024 at the Whitin Observatory
Julia Sherman'25 at Space Telescope Science Institute, Baltimore, MD
Dr. Lucia Perez/14 with summer students and Observatory Manager Jonathan Kemp at the Center for Computational Astrophysics, Flatiron Institute, NYC
Summer students Evyn Lally'27, Alejandra Rodriguez'25, and Julia Sherman'25 at NASA Goddard
Dr. Jane Rigby, Senior Project Scientist of JWST, giving our summer students an overview of the JWST mission control room
Summer student Vivi Li'26 at the Dibner Library of the History of Science and Technology, Smithsonian Libraries, DC.
Wellesley summer students presenting their work at the Space Telescope Science Institute
Summer students and Observatory Manager Jonathan Kemp in front of the Mikulski Archive for Space Telescopes (Go MAST!)