Ashley Lieber

Ashley Lieber is a 2023-2024 Self Graduate Fellow pursuing a Ph.D. in Physics with a focus in Astrophysics at the University of Kansas in the Mills Nearby Galaxies Lab. She holds a B.S. degree in Physics with a concentration in Astronomy along with minors in Mathematics and STEM Education from the University of Arkansas (2022). While her research has always focused on observational astrophysic, she made the transition from studying exoplanets and stellar astrophysics to studying star formation in the nearest galaxies upon entering graduate school. Her current work focuses on using data from the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array in Chile to study the nearby starburst galaxy, NGC 253. This galaxy is the nearest galaxy that hosts a nuclear starburst which is very intensely active star formation. This extreme level star formation was much more common billions of years ago, so studying this galaxy in detail gives us a glimpse into the physics of typical star formation in the early universe. These results will then be compared to analogous studies of the Milky Way to understand why our own galaxy does not produce this level of star formation. Ashley is passionate about deepening our understanding of the universe around us while also making it exciting and accessible to the public at large which is the main driving force behind her dedication to outreach efforts within her department. She works to blend these passions and build collaboration in every project she takes on.

Mentor: Elisabeth Mills, Ph.D., Assistant Professor, Physics and Astronomy