Sara Issaoun awarded prestigious NASA Hubble Fellowship

Congratulations to Sara Issaoun, a PhD student at Radboud University, who has been awarded one of the 24 prestigious 2021 NASA Hubble Fellowships. Fellows are named to one of three sub-categories corresponding to three broad scientific questions NASA seeks to answer about the universe:

How does the universe work? – Einstein Fellows
How did we get here? – Hubble Fellows
Are we alone? – Sagan Fellows

"As an Einstein Fellow, Sara aims to expand millimeter-wave radio-imaging capabilities and forge strong connections between the first images of supermassive black hole shadows and physics probed by partner facilities across the electromagnetic spectrum. Currently, tests of General Relativity via black-hole imaging with the EHT are limited by astrophysical uncertainties of the surrounding accretion flow. We can sharpen these tests using panchromatic studies of these complex environments. Multi-wavelength constraints on accretion-flow properties will critically inform the scientific interpretation of images of black-hole shadows, our understanding of jet-launching mechanisms, black-hole spin measurements, and, ultimately, precision tests of General Relativity."

Sara is currently finishing her PhD research under the supervision of Prof. Heino Falcke. She will start her Einstein Fellowship research in the autumn of 2021 at the Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory in the USA.