MMA Post-Baccalaureate Astronomy Research Fellow Receives Honorable Mention in Prestigious NSF Award

Logan Gomes • April 29, 2022

Nantucket, MA – The Maria Mitchell Association (MMA) is proud to share the news that the MMA Post-Baccalaureate Astronomy Research Fellow, Celia Mulcahey, recently received an Honorable Mention in the National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellowship Program (NSF-GRFP). The NSF-GRFP, “Recognizes and supports outstanding graduate students in NSF-supported STEM disciplines who are pursuing research-based master’s and doctoral degrees at accredited US institutions.” The five-year fellowship provides a stipend for the graduate student, as well as national prestige, recognition, and institutional support. The competition for these awards is fierce – each year approximately 12,000 students apply for the 2,000 awards given out across all STEM disciplines. The application consists of a personal statement, a graduate research plan statement, transcripts, and two letters of recommendation. 

 

“Each fall we support multiple former MMA astronomy interns applying for the NSF-GRFP, and just getting through the application process is no small feat. So, it’s always a great joy when our interns receive recognition on this national stage for their tremendous efforts and talents,” said MMA Director of Astronomy, Dr. Regina Jorgenson. “It’s been such a joy to have Celia back at the MMA this past year, and to work with her as part of our NSF-sponsored collaboration unravelling the mysteries of fast radio bursts and the galaxies that host them,” Jorgenson continued. 

 

Mulcahey first came to the MMA as a summer NSF Research Experiences for Undergraduates (NSF-REU) intern in the summer of 2019. Her summer research project involved a detailed study of a nearby galaxy in which the gas of the galaxy is rotating in the opposite direction of the stars. To decipher the cause of this unusual behavior, Mulcahey used data from one of the most powerful, ground-based optical telescopes in the world: the Very Large Telescope in the Atacama Desert in northern Chile. She wrote and published a first-authored publication in the astronomical journal, Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society, entitled “Deciphering the origin of ionized gas in IC1459 with VLT/MUSE.” 

 

“I owe so much of my confidence and prowess as a young researcher to my time at the MMA. It was during my experience as an NSF-REU intern at the Maria Mitchell Observatory (MMO) where I first fell in love with how galaxies form and evolve, and developed essential research and communication skills,” said Mulcahey. After graduating summa cum laude from Mount Holyoke College with a B.A. in Astronomy and Geology, Mulcahey returned to the MMA in September of 2021 as the Post-Baccalaureate Astronomy Research Fellow. 

 

The Post-Baccalaureate Astronomy Research Fellow position is sponsored by a special research grant from the National Science Foundation awarded to the MMA to support the MMA’s participation in the Fast and Fortunate for FRB Follow-up, or F4, collaboration. The goal of the F4 collaboration is to perform optical follow-up of the host galaxies of the mysterious fast radio bursts, or FRBs, which are extremely bright and brief flashes of radio radiation whose cause is not currently understood. “As the post-bac research fellow, the MMA and the F4 collaboration have provided me with a platform to be at the forefront of research in the astrophysics, specifically in FRBs, which are remarkable bursts of unknown extragalactic origins that release a comparable amount of energy in a thousandth of a second as the Sun does in a year,” said Mulcahey. During the past year, Mulcahey has conducted observations using the other most powerful, ground-based optical telescope in the world, the Keck Telescope in Hawai’i, to observe a nearby globular cluster that hosts a repeating FRB. In addition to her research work, Mulcahey assists with the MMA’s education and outreach programs, including helping to host Open Nights at the Loines Observatory and providing the weekly Star Report podcast. This coming summer, Mulcahey will assist in mentoring the new NSF-REU interns and help them to learn the ropes of telescope operation, research processes, and making the most of their time on Nantucket. 

 

In the fall, Mulcahey will begin her graduate studies in the Astrophysics Ph.D. program at Johns Hopkins University where she plans to use the first observations from the newly deployed James Webb Space Telescope to understand the dynamical and chemical evolution of galaxies since the early universe. Mulcahey said, “My next adventure marks the culmination of a substantive and competitive research background, which I have gained thanks to the opportunities and mentorship I've received from the MMA.”


The Maria Mitchell Association is a private non-profit organization. Founded in 1902, the MMA works to preserve the legacy of Nantucket native astronomer, naturalist, librarian, and educator, Maria Mitchell. The Maria Mitchell Association operates two observatories, a natural science museum, an aquarium, a research center, and preserves the historic birthplace of Maria Mitchell. A wide variety of science and history-related programming is offered throughout the year for people of all ages.

For Immediate Release

April 29, 2022

Contact: Logan Gomes, Director of Advancement

lgomes@mariamitchell.org

Recent Posts

Nantucket Maria Mitchell Association Welcomes Dr. Jackie Milingo, MMA's Director of Astronomy, as Featured October Science Speaker Series

October 2, 2025
NANTUCKET, MA— —The Nantucket Maria Mitchell Association (MMA) announces that it will host its new Director of Astronomy, Jackie Mlingo, PhD., as a featured presenter for its October Science Speaker Series. The presentation will take place on Wednesday, October 15 at 7pm in person at the MMA Research Center, 2 Vestal Street, and via Zoom. The event is FREE to all. Have you ever noticed the dark spots that sometimes appear on the Sun’s surface? These “sunspots” are just one example of star spots—mysterious patches that appear on stars across the galaxy. Far from being simple blemishes, star spots reveal the powerful magnetic forces at work inside stars, forces that also drive solar storms and shape the space weather that can impact entire planetary systems. In this talk, Dr. Milingo will share her research on star spots and how she uses them as a window into teaching undergraduates the process of scientific discovery. She will also explore how science can reach far beyond the classroom—bringing STEM into everyday spaces and sparking curiosity across communities, from kindergartners to lifelong learners. Dr. Jackie Milingo is an observational astronomer who earned B.S. degrees in Physics and Astronomy from the University of Kansas, and a Ph.D. in Astrophysics from the University of Oklahoma. Her research is currently focused on understanding magnetic activity cycles in sun-like stars through long-term studies of starpots. Dr. Milingo joins the MMA after a year-long AAAS Science and Technology Policy Fellowship at the U.S. National Science Foundation, where she was a Fellow in the Office of Legislative and Public Affairs, as well as the Astronomy Division in the Math and Physical Sciences Directorate. Before her fellowship, she was a professor in the Physics Department at Gettysburg College for over twenty years where her work included mentoring undergraduate research students. Dr. Milingo joined the staff of the MMA in early September after a year-long, worldwide search for a new astronomer. She becomes the eighth MMA Astronomer and Director of the Astronomy Department of the MMA since Margaret Harwood, the MMA’s first astronomer, served from 1916 to 1957. Dr. Milingo has spent her career committed to generating transformative experiential learning opportunities, contributing to public education and outreach, removing barriers for students, and changing the conversation and learning spaces in astronomy, physics, and STEM in general. This event will be held both in person and via Zoom. Pre-registration is required to attend either option. To register for the free, in-person event, use the registration link below: https://112458a.blackbaudhosting.com/112458a/October-Science-Speaker-Series--Dr-Jackie-Milingo To register for the free, Zoom option, use the registration link below: https://us06web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_5q4kXF2rRHi8iWbFPkLN5w The Science Speaker Series is generously sponsored by the Maria Mitchell Association’s lead sponsor, Bank of America The Maria Mitchell Association was founded in 1902 to preserve the legacy of Nantucket native astronomer, naturalist, librarian, and educator, Maria Mitchell. After she discovered a comet in 1847, Mitchell’s international fame led to many achievements and awards, including an appointment as the first professor of astronomy at Vassar College. Maria Mitchell believed in “learning by doing” and today that philosophy is reflected in the MMA’s mission statement, programs, research projects, and other activities. The Maria Mitchell Association operates two observatories, a natural science museum, an aquarium, a research center, and preserves the historic birthplace of Maria Mitchell. A wide variety of science and history-related programming is offered throughout the year for people of all ages. ###

Keep Calm and Bird On: October 2025

October 1, 2025
“If you don’t look, you don’t see. You have to go and look.” -Edith Andrews

Maria Mitchell In Her Own Words

By Jascin N. Leonardo Finger • September 29, 2025
Sept. 25, 1854. . . . The best that can be said of my life so far is that it has been industrious, and the best that can be said of me is that I have not pretended to what I was not.  I think of two things when I read this. One is that Quakers believed in being industrious and not wasting time. The second point makes me think immediately of Holden Caulfield – The Catcher in the Rye if you don’t know that character’s name – and his various references and discussions to “phonys” as he refers to them though Maria’s mention here is not entirely in the same vain. A materially successful Quaker was one who was living “in the light,” as Quakers referred to it. Even if gifted with material wealth, Quakers still lived frugally and were a hard working group of people. As Hector St. Jean de Crèvecoeur noted, “Idleness is the most heinous sin that can be committed in Nantucket . . . for idleness is considered as another word for want and hunger.” If you were not productive and industrious, you would starve – and it would affect others in the community since isolated Nantucket acted as a corporate family economy – everyone was relying on one another for survival. While Maria is also not necessarily going to this depth of industrious it is a Quaker ethic that was strongly imbued in her. She certainly was a hard worked with numerous accomplishments to her name and many different projects completed even by 1854 at age thirty-six. And don’t forget October 1 st is the anniversary of Maria’s comet discovery – October 1, 1847. JNLF
Show More