Mariah MacDonald

Dr. Mariah MacDonald is the Clare Boothe Luce Assistant Professor of Physics at The College of New Jersey's School of Science. She holds a PhD in Astronomy & Astrophysics and Astrobiology from Pennsylvania State University, with additional degrees from Florida Institute of Technology. MacDonald leads research in exoplanet dynamics and habitability, currently advising undergraduate and graduate students.

Her research program focuses on dynamical evolution of planetary systems, resonance characterization, and astrobiological potential of exoplanets. She developed the Python package exoMMR for analyzing mean motion resonances.

Publication analysis reveals consistent focus on exoplanet dynamics (87% of recent works), with emerging interests in technosignature detection and educational innovation. Recent methodological advances include machine learning applications for planetary classification.

Selected Awards:

• Alumni Association Dissertation Award (2021)
• NASA Space Grant Fellowship (2018-2019)
• NSF Graduate Research Fellowship (2017)
• Zaccheus Daniel Award (2018, 2019, 2020)

She directs the exoplanet dynamics research group and serves as faculty advisor for the Physics Club. Her lab investigates planetary system formation using both observational data and computational models.