This summer, a record number of Randolph-Macon Astrophysics students participated in the highly selective U.S. National Science Foundation (NSF) Research Experiences for Undergraduates (REU) program, conducting research across both the country and the universe.

Cooper Bailey ’27 studied the temperature of an exoplanet at the University of Hawaii, Savannah Jones ’27 explored the chemical evolution of a dwarf galaxy at the University of Notre Dame, and Arissa Williams ’28 helped prepare for a spacecraft to visit one of Jupiter’s moons in collaboration with NASA at the Southwest Research Institute.

REUs are paid opportunities for students to work on NSF-funded research under the mentorship of faculty and other researchers. They often bring students into well-funded labs in R1 institutions and major science institutes, and help them gain valuable research experience in addition to networking and professional development opportunities.

RMC’s three REU participants in summer 2026 represent a majority of the College’s Astrophysics students, which is a sub-discipline of Physics. This high percentage, in combination with the diversity of their research subjects, speaks to the quality of Randolph-Macon’s program. 

“These students have been greatly involved in the Keeble Observatory and working with Dr. Michael Rodruck on a variety of research applications,” said Dr. Deonna Woolard, Chair of the Department of Physics, Engineering, and Astrophysics. “They’re bringing in more than just Astrophysics knowledge; they’re bringing in experience in one-on-one research that we do very well here.”

Savannah Jones, a Mathematics and Physics double major with a minor in Astrophysics, had her attention on an entire galaxy in the Hercules constellation, studying its chemical evolution in the lab at Notre Dame.

An analysis of spectral lines revealed what elements are currently present within its stars. “This galaxy is on the edge of our galaxy, so we’re trying to study what events may have occurred in the past to influence the stars,” Jones explained.

She felt that her RMC experience set her up for success in her research this summer. “I was beyond ready for this REU,” Jones said. “I had already done two years of astro research and that’s been really helpful. I’ve been able to self-guide myself through this project and rely on the research that I’ve done at school.”

Meanwhile, across the Pacific in Hawaii, Cooper Bailey, a Physics major with minors in Astrophysics and Computer Science, spent the summer researching an exoplanet (a planet outside our solar system, orbiting a different sun). The exoplanet in question is 20 million years old, which is relatively young compared to the Earth’s billions of years of existence.

“Looking at how these young planets evolve can help us learn more about things going on in our own solar system,” Bailey explained. “And also helps keep improving technology.”

In analyzing the brightness of the exoplanet at different wavelengths, he used both his Astrophysics skills and lots of coding in Python, which he had learned through the Computer Science curriculum. Arissa Williams, a Physics major with a double minor in Astrophysics and Japanese Studies, also used her classroom coding experience at the Southwest Research Institute.

Williams ran Python code to simulate and test the kind of atmospheric readings Europa Clipper’s ultraviolet spectrograph will get when it reaches Europa, the icy moon of Jupiter with a large subsurface ocean, in 2031. The NASA space probe will be investigating the moon’s habitability.

“Running code is something that I’m not new to. I started working on code in the fall, actually, in one of my classes for Physics,” Williams said. That experience laid the groundwork for her to learn more advanced skills this summer, like NASA’s internal coding language. “I had the intro skills in that, but this is so in depth, and I’m using new things I’ve never done before.”

“They used their knowledge that they gained here,” Dr. Woolard reflected. “And really took leaps and bounds forward.”

For all three students, the REU experience not only confirmed their desire to pursue astrophysics but also helped prepare them for the next step of their careers, including applying for graduate school.

“This has been good confirmation of something I thought I would enjoy,” Bailey reflected, adding that receiving feedback on scientific writing for his reports on exoplanet research was particularly helpful. Williams valued the networking opportunities with the grad students and fellow researchers, joking that “I really enjoy being around people that are nerdy…We’re all really into space and science. Being around people with the same interest is really cool.”

Jones summed up the impact of her experience at Notre Dame doing high-level research within the science community.

“It’s been great. I love it here. I get to do research every day, which I’m really passionate about. I get to work with lots of people, and I get to learn more about physics in general,” she said. “Our program isn’t specifically astrophysics, it’s all physics. I get to meet people from condensed matter and from particle physics, so just having a larger community of physicists is awesome.”