Aarya / आर्या

I am an Assistant Professor in the Departments of Statistics and Astronomy & Astrophysics at Penn State University. I am also co-hired through the Institute for Computational and Data Sciences at Penn State. Previously, I was an LSST Discovery Alliance Catalyst Postdoctoral Fellow at the Max Planck Institute for Astronomy in Germany. I received my PhD in Astronomy & Astrophysics from the University of Toronto, where I was also a Data Sciences Institute Fellow, and my BEng in Computer Engineering from S. P. Pune University in India.

My research lies at the intersection of astrophysics, statistics, and computer science. I develop statistical and machine learning methods to understand how galaxies like the Milky Way form and evolve, with a particular focus on extracting scientific insight from large and complex astronomical datasets. You can learn more on my Research page.

I am a strong advocate for open science and develop well-documented, open-source software for astronomical data science. For more than nine years, I have contributed to Astropy, the leading open-source Python ecosystem for astronomy. I hold key leadership roles within the project, including serving as an Astropy Coordinator and a member of its Finance Committee.

I am also passionate about teaching, mentoring, and outreach, and have worked with students and communities across astrophysics, data science, and computer engineering. See my Teaching and Outreach pages for more.