معرفی
Robyn Sanderson serves as an Associate Professor in the Department of Physics and Astronomy at the University of Pennsylvania's School of Arts & Sciences, where she has been a standing faculty member since 2018. She maintains an active research role as a guest researcher at the Center for Computational Astrophysics, Flatiron Institute, following her tenure as an Associate Research Scientist there from 2018-2021.
Her academic foundation includes a Ph.D. in Physics from MIT (2011), supervised by Edmund Bertschinger with committee members Alan Guth and Paul Schechter, and dual B.S. degrees in Physics and Astronomy, both earned summa cum laude from the University of Maryland (1999-2003).
Dr. Sanderson's research centers on dark matter distribution in galaxies through the lens of stellar dynamics, particularly using Gaia mission data to probe galaxy outskirts where dark matter dominates. She pioneers synthetic survey techniques with FIRE cosmological simulations to develop optimal strategies for mapping Milky Way dark matter. As co-chair of the Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope astrometry working group and a member of the SDSS-V consortium, she shapes next-generation observational approaches for testing dark matter theories through velocity and chemical-abundance data from WEAVE and future missions.
Her 2024 publications reveal a dominant focus on dark matter constraints via galactic dynamics, with extensive use of FIRE simulations to model stellar streams, merger debris, and satellite interactions. Key trends include precision acceleration measurements, Roman Space Telescope survey design, and leveraging fossil records to study reionization-era galaxies.
Scientific recognition includes:
- NSF Astronomy and Astrophysics Postdoctoral Fellowship
She leads the 4N10 Galaxy Dynamics @ UPenn research group, teaches core courses including ASTR001 (Survey of the Universe) and PHYS 533 (Galactic Dynamics with Gaia), and contributes to major collaborative efforts like SDSS-V and WEAVE. Her work bridges computational astrophysics with observational strategies for upcoming space telescopes, emphasizing actionable pathways to test dark matter models through next-generation data.
