Dylan Nelson

Dylan Nelson is an Emmy Noether Research Group Leader at the Institute for Theoretical Astrophysics within Heidelberg University's Center for Astrophysics (ZAH). His work focuses on computational models of galaxy formation, circumgalactic medium dynamics, and cosmological simulations using the AREPO hydrodynamics code. He leads the IllustrisTNG Project and co-leads TNG50 and TNG-Cluster simulations, advancing understanding of galactic feedback, gas accretion, and magnetic fields.

Education: PhD in Astrophysics from Harvard University (2015), postdoctoral fellowship at the Max Planck Institute for Astrophysics (MPA). Research interests span cosmological magnetohydrodynamics, galaxy evolution, and computational methods. Awards include the MERAC Prize (2023) and Clarivate Highly Cited Researcher (2021-2023).

Research highlights include resolving small-scale CGM structures, studying X-ray emission from hot halos, and simulating galaxy clusters' intracluster medium. His group is funded by DFG, Hector Fellow Academy, and the STRUCTURES Cluster of Excellence. Supervised over 20 students, including PhDs and MSc/BSc researchers.

Technical contributions include the IllustrisTNG public data release, visualization tools like ArepoVTK, and Python package scida for big data analysis. His work bridges theory and observation, informing next-generation missions like the Lynx X-ray telescope and Giant Magellan Telescope.