Ryan Brady, a senior at Stony Brook University (SBU), has been recognized as the URECA researcher of the month for November. He is pursuing a double major in physics and astronomy/planetary sciences. For over a year, Brady has been involved in computational astrophysics research under Professor Michael Zingale, focusing on simulating double detonation Type Ia supernovae models using Castro simulation code. Additionally, he recently embarked on another project with Assistant Professor Simon Birrer to analyze Hubble Space Telescope data of doubly imaged quasars, aiming to refine estimates of the universe's expansion rate.
Brady expressed his enthusiasm for research at Stony Brook: “Research is exciting. There are always new questions that need to be solved. And new things to analyze, new insights to discover. And so it really helps keep me motivated through some of the rougher days where a code keeps crashing …. I’m motivated by the fact that there’s always a new frontier ahead to discover something new.”
His initial undergraduate research experience began as a sophomore with Professor Thomas Weinacht on "Using Field Programmable Gate Arrays as Oscilloscopes and Arbitrary Waveform Generators." Brady dedicated two summers to undergraduate research through the 2023 Explorations in STEM and 2024 URECA Summer programs. He received two NASA New York Space Grants in Spring and Fall 2024 and support for conference presentations from URECA and the Conference Experience for Undergraduates award from the University of Wisconsin-La Crosse.
In recent months, Brady presented posters at various events including the 2024 Physics and Astronomy Undergraduate Symposium, Summer Symposium, SUNY Undergraduate Research Conference at Suffolk County Community College, and the American Physical Society Division of Nuclear Physics Meeting in Boston.
Beyond academics, Brady serves as president of SBU's High C’s Tenor-Tenor-Baritone-Bass a cappella choir and engagement chair for Wolfiethon, part of the B+ Foundation supporting childhood cancer research. He also mentors peers through the Society of Physics Students.
Read more about his journey in an interview with URECA Director Karen Kernan.