Jenny Bergner

Jenny Bergner is an Assistant Professor in the Chemistry Department at the University of California, Berkeley. She earned her BS in Chemistry from the University of Virginia (2013) and PhD from Harvard University (2019). Following her PhD, she held a NASA Sagan Postdoctoral Fellowship at the University of Chicago before joining UC Berkeley in 2023.

Research Interests: Bergner specializes in astrochemistry, focusing on the volatile chemistry during star and planet formation. Her work explores how carbon, nitrogen, and oxygen are incorporated into planetary systems, utilizing telescopes like ALMA and JWST to study protostars and protoplanetary disks. She also conducts cryogenic vacuum experiments to simulate interstellar ice chemistry and develops simulations to model chemical dynamics in planet-forming environments. Key projects include investigating phosphorus chemistry, ice inheritance in disks, and the role of interstellar ices in organic molecule formation.

Scientific Awards:

• NASA Sagan Postdoctoral Fellowship

Advising and Team: Bergner currently supervises graduate students Eleanor Greenspoon (joined 2022), Jack Anderson (joined 2022), and Morgan Kennebeck (joined 2023). Her lab integrates observational astronomy, laboratory astrophysics, and computational modeling to address astrochemical evolution.