Jedidah Isler is awarded an NSF Astronomy and Astrophysics Postdoctoral Fellowship to carry out a program of research and education at Vanderbilt University. This integrated plan of research, education, and career development is based on two fundamental pillars: a) an investigation of the accretion disk and jet physics in supermassive, hyperactive black holes called blazars, and b) the development of a nationally distributed alumni network for Astronomy students of color. Isler is working to understand the fundamental physical processes that produce the highly variable and multiwavelength emission detected in blazars. The outcome of this study will help astrophysicists better understand the interplay between the infalling accretion material and outflowing jet material. In this way, one can in principle build up a full geometric picture of the flow of matter and resulting radiation in these galactic black hole systems. Isler is equally committed to creating spaces for students of color to thrive in academic settings in general and STEM disciplines in particular. Her personal experience informs her passion, as she has been in safe spaces as well as survived overtly and covertly hostile environments in her pursuit of scientific excellence. It is her goal to continue that pursuit while building academic spaces that are welcoming to an ever wider portion of the population.
The blazar study relies on simultaneous, multiwavelength data obtained from NASA Fermi Gamma-Ray Space Telescope and the Small and Medium Aperture Research Telescope System, which provides optical and infrared data. Together, these two datasets are used to constrain the physical mechanisms responsible for the highest energy gamma-ray emission we observe. Furthermore, when optical spectroscopic data are also obtained, the location of the gamma-emitting region can be better localized. This localization of the high energy emission allows us to distinguish between competing models for the physical mechanisms that drive these processes. The national alumni network will begin with the Fisk Vanderbilt Masters-to-PhD Bridge Program and augment the already active Research Showcase on campus. This gathering of current students will form the basis of an annual alumni gathering. Furthermore, state-of-the-art online tools will be used to build and maintain the virtual community that is critical to cementing relationships developed during the annual campus visit. Finally, since the ultimate goal of this portion of the project is to replicate this network on a national scale, a key deliverable will be a best practices toolkit to be shared with other Bridge programs across the country.
