Abigail Polin

Abigail Polin is a theoretical and computational astrophysicist and Professor of Physics and Astronomy at Purdue University. Her research focuses on astrophysical transients, particularly Type Ia supernovae and stellar explosions. She utilizes hydrodynamical simulations and radiative transport calculations to bridge theory with observational data. Polin holds a PhD from UC Berkeley (2020), where she worked under Peter Nugent and Dan Kasen, and previously served as a postdoctoral fellow at Carnegie Observatories and Caltech.

Her work has been recognized with the NERSC Early Career Award (2025) for modeling sub-Chandrasekhar mass Type Ia supernovae. Polin's research spans observational astronomy, numerical modeling, and instrument design, including proposals for CubeSat missions like UVIa to study ultraviolet signatures of supernovae. She collaborates extensively with international teams on projects like the Carnegie Supernova Project-II and Zwicky Transient Facility surveys.

Key research themes include:

• Explosion mechanisms for calcium-rich transients and Iax/Ia supernovae
• Stellar progenitor systems and detonation processes
• Anisotropy studies in supernova remnants
• Multi-wavelength observations using JWST and ground-based facilities

Her recent work emphasizes late-time NIR spectroscopy, forbidden line emission analysis, and the connection between theoretical models and observational data from transient surveys. Polin actively participates in transient classification efforts like POISE and contributes to both observational campaigns and numerical simulation frameworks.