Outstanding Seniors in the College of Science: Hanga Andras-Letanovszky

This spring, the College of Science recognized 12 outstanding seniors for their contributions in and out of the classroom. Hanga Andras-Letanovszky is this semester's recipient from Astronomy & Steward Observatory!

The College of Science caught up with Hanga to learn more about her experiences at the University of Arizona and what is on the horizon after graduation.

Why did you choose to study in your specific department/major?

I was fascinated with space growing up because my family visited Lowell Observatory up in Flagstaff so much, so I knew right off the bat that I wanted to study astronomy and physics at UA. But I’ve always been really interested in math, too, especially because it’s so deeply ingrained in physics. I eventually realized I wanted to pursue it further than my physics and astronomy courses allowed, so I added a math major as well (plus an extra year of undergrad).

Tell me about a class or research project you really enjoyed.

I’ve been working with Prof. Yancy Shirley in the Department of Astronomy since my freshman year on a project exploring the very earliest stages of a star’s birth. Specifically, I’ve been using the abundances of organic molecules like formaldehyde to probe how quickly dense, cold clumps of gas and dust called starless cores are evolving to the point of collapsing into a protostar. This project has been super cool, especially because I got to use (and even visit!) the 12m Radio Telescope on Kitt Peak and learn all about spectroscopy and astrochemistry.

What is one specific memory from your time at UA that you'll cherish forever?

I loved going to star parties with the UA Astronomy Club! We would bring our telescopes to a dark spot near Tucson and just stargaze and hang out for a few hours (and almost always end up at IHOP afterwards). I made so many incredible friends and memories at these star parties, and I saw a lot of awesome stuff too; we even caught a rocket launch from Vandenberg Space Force Base once!

What are you most proud of having accomplished in your time at UA?

I’m incredibly proud of my research with Prof. Shirley, both because I’ve learned so much doing it and because I found a pretty cool result — it looks like the long, gaseous filaments cores are in might also be evolving at different rates from each other as a whole! This project was my honors thesis, and I’m submitting a first-author paper on it soon. I was even able to use it as the basis for a research proposal that landed me an NSF Graduate Research Fellowship!

What is next for you after graduation?

I’m going to the University of Michigan to do a PhD in Astronomy! My plan is to keep researching star formation and astrochemistry and further untangle the issue of starless core evolution. I also want to continue the astronomy outreach work I started doing while at UA and encourage a love of space in people of all backgrounds.