The Dim and Deserted Places: Unveiling the Nature of the Universe in Spectacularly Modest Environments
Arielle Phillips Ph.D., discusses her research into the "emptier spaces" and "dimmer objects" of the universe. She explains her approach of focusing on the emptier spaces between galaxies to uncover fundamental truths about the cosmos. Using her background in computational astrophysics, she models how galaxies move and evolve. Through a series of engaging examples and analogies, she helps the audience understand how astronomers collect and interpret information—from light to gravitational waves—to paint a more complete, dynamic picture of the universe.
Experience the Event
Presented by Department of Physics
Arielle Phillips Ph.D. discusses her research into the “emptier spaces” and “dimmer objects” of the universe. She explains her approach of focusing on the emptier spaces between galaxies to uncover fundamental truths about the cosmos. Using her background in computational astrophysics, she models how galaxies move and evolve. Through a series of engaging examples and analogies, she helps the audience understand how astronomers collect and interpret information—from light to gravitational waves—to paint a more complete, dynamic picture of the universe.
Meet the Faculty: Arielle Phillips
Arielle Phillips Ph.D., is an associate professor of the practice in the department of physics and astronomy at the University of Notre Dame. During her time at Notre Dame, she developed and taught a wide range of courses for non-majors, majors and graduate students, including “Physics of Civilization,” which was tailor-made for Architecture students, and “Science Play” under the aegis of the Provost’s Initiative on Team Teaching. She also founded a physics program, complete with labs, at the Westville correctional facility for the Moreau College Initiative. She completed a bachelor of science and physics with honors at McGill University in Montreal and earned her Ph.D. in physics at Princeton University. She was a fellow of the National Science of Black Physicists in 2020 and was awarded the Simons Emmy Noether Fellow at the Perimeter Institute for Theoretical Physics in 2024.