CV

Click the pdf icon on the right to download my full updated CV. Last updated on Aug 10, 2026.

Contact Information

Name Aadya Agrawal
Professional Title PhD Candidate in Astronomy
Email aadyaa2@illinois.edu

Professional Summary

PhD candidate in astronomy at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, working on strongly lensed supernovae, time-delay cosmography, and JWST observations.

Experience

  • 2023 - Present

    Urbana-Champaign, IL

    Graduate Researcher
    University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
    • Difference imaging and time-delay measurements for SN H0pe with JWST NIRCam
    • Lens model testing for PLCK G165.7+67.0 using lensed SN H0pe (published in ApJ)
    • SN Ia modelling with BAYESN and SALT3
    • Cosmological analysis for the SIRAH (Supernovae in the InfRAred Avec Hubble) project combining ground-based and HST data
    • Mentoring 2 undergraduate students
  • 2022 - 2023

    Ann Arbor, MI

    Undergraduate Researcher
    University of Michigan – Dept. of Astronomy
    • Advisor: Dr. Joel Bregman
    • Cross-matched eFEDS with MCXC and Planck catalogs to identify new X-ray sources
    • Developed a detection algorithm for SZ peaks in Planck maps to find low-mass galaxy groups and clusters
  • 2019 - 2023

    Ann Arbor, MI

    Undergraduate Researcher
    University of Michigan – UROP
    • Advisor: Dr. Hui Deng
    • Built a microscope transfer stage to fabricate 2D heterostructures
    • Integrated TMD heterostructures onto 1D photonic crystal nanobeams and characterized them optically
    • Honors Thesis: Integration of Van der Waals heterostructures of Transition Metal Dichalcogenides with 1D photonic crystal nanobeams
  • 2023 - 2023

    Urbana-Champaign, IL

    Teaching Assistant – Astronomy 406: Galaxies and the Universe
    University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
  • 2023 - 2023

    Urbana-Champaign, IL

    Teaching Assistant – Astronomy 405: Planetary Science
    University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

Education

  • 2023 - Present

    Urbana-Champaign, IL

    Doctor of Philosophy
    University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
    Astronomy
    • Advisor: Prof. Gautham Narayan
    • GPA: 3.8/4.0
    • PhD Candidate as of September 2025
  • 2019 - 2023

    Ann Arbor, MI

    Bachelor of Science
    University of Michigan
    Physics and Astronomy
    • High Honors in Physics and Astronomy
    • GPA: 3.64/4.00
    • Honors Thesis Advisor: Dr. Hui Deng

Awards

  • 2023
    Chambliss Astronomy Award (Undergraduate Category)
    American Astronomical Society
  • 2025
    Graduate Student Fellowship
    Center for Astrophysical Surveys & The NSF-Simons Institute for the Sky (SkAI)

    2025–26 academic year

  • 2027
    IPAC Visiting Graduate Student Fellowship
    Caltech

Telescope Time

Que SIRAH: Completing the Low-Redshift NIR Supernova Anchor for Roman: HST Cycle 34 (PID 18377), Principal Investigator — 14 primary HST orbits. Templates to reduce host contamination in SIRAH SN photometry, completing the NIR anchor for Roman.
Taking Aim at Precision Cosmology with SN Atalanta: JWST Cycle 4 DDT (PID 12774), Principal Investigator — 3.4 hrs JWST NIRCam + 4 HST orbits. DDT follow-up of a VENUS-discovered lensed SN IIP to measure time delays and H₀.
Setting the Clock for the First Future Lensed Supernova Reappearance Beyond z=2: JWST Cycle 5 DDT (PID 12782), Co-Investigator (PI: Fujimoto) — 9.3 hrs JWST NIRCam + NIRSpec. Follow-up of a z ~ 3–4 cluster-lensed SN with a predicted future reappearance, opening time-delay H₀ cosmography beyond z=2 for the first time.
LensTrove: Unlocking the Cosmological Power of Cluster-lensed Supernovae: HST Cycle 34 (PID 18395), Co-Investigator (PI: Larison) — 27 primary HST orbits + 21.90 hrs JWST. ToO observations of 3 glSNe for a < 2.5% H₀ measurement, enabling a > 3σ statement on the Hubble Tension.
Completing a Legacy Dataset with Deep HST Imaging of 121 Nearby Star-Forming Galaxies: HST Cycle 34 (PID 18338), Co-Investigator (PI: Kilpatrick) — 193 primary + 138 parallel spacecraft orbits.
Catching Eos by the Tail: JWST Cycle 5 (PID 12299), Co-Investigator (PI: Larison) — 29.2 hrs JWST NIRSpec. Spectroscopic follow-up of lensed SN Eos during radioactive decline to measure ejecta velocity and metallicity.
Requiem's Return: Precision Cosmology from a Decade-Delayed, Strongly-Lensed Supernova and Its New Sibling: HST Cycles 33 & 34 (PID 18069), Co-Investigator (PI: Pierel) — 14 (C33) + 12 (C34) HST orbits + 25.80 hrs JWST. Monitoring for Requiem's return and obtaining follow-up observations.
Standard-ish Candles: Measuring SN Ia Luminosity Drift at z > 3: JWST Cycle 5 (PID 12146), Co-Investigator (PI: Pierel) — 120.9 primary spacecraft hours. Building a z ≳ 3 SN Ia sample via 5 ToOs to test luminosity drift and constrain bias below Roman precision.

Mentoring

Ruixing (Ray) Liang: Undergraduate, UIUC (Jan 2025 – Present) — Testing and validation of Photo-z methods for LSST
Tanmay Raswant: Undergraduate, UIUC (Jan 2025 – Present) — Cosmological analysis of ground-based data for SIRAH

Professional Experience

JWST Summer School: High Redshift Transients: Space Telescope Science Institute, Baltimore, MD (Aug 2025)

Skills

Python (Expert): numpy, pandas, matplotlib, seaborn, astropy, scipy
Astronomy Software (Proficient): BAYESN, SALT3, SNCOSMO, HEALPY, JWST Pipeline, SPACEPHOT, WebbPSF, HOTPANTS, PyZOGY
Data Reduction & Analysis (Proficient): Difference imaging, photometry, JWST NIRCam
LaTeX (Expert): Research papers, academic documents