UC exchange student shoots for the stars

Her graduate internship to expand her research on the evolution of galaxies is the first of its kind for UC’s astrophysics department, a unique student exchange between the two universities. UC and UZg have had a formal collaborative relationship since 2016 and have connected through summer internships, visiting scholars, and joint research.

“I’m kind of an experiment, I’m the first person who’s enrolled in that kind of program here,” said Vulić. “[The astrophysics faculty members] were really friendly and they were really open for different options.”

Student and faculty research mobility is critical to developing global teams capable of solving real-world problems. It drives UC’s innovation agenda, part of the Carnegie-1 research university’s Next Lives Here strategic direction. 

Researchers at UC and UZg are part of an international community of scientists analyzing telescopic data from the Cosmic Evolution Survey (COSMOS). COSMOS studies a two-square-degree section of the skies chosen to be as free as possible of interference across the electromagnetic spectrum. Through this window on the universe, focus ground- and space-based telescopes to gather data on over 2 million galaxies in the hopes of understanding the evolution of our own.  

Vulić’s mentor, UZg professor Vernesa Smolčić, is one of the global leaders of the COSMOS project. After a decade abroad, Smolčić returned to Croatia in 2013 to start her own research group. Vulić explained that having such a world-renowned scientist in her country shaped her interest in astrophysics.

“I can’t even describe how good [Smolčić’s presence] is, because it gave a lot of opportunities to young people,” explained Vulić. “If she didn’t come back, probably, definitely, I wouldn’t be in astrophysics.”

Smolčić stressed the importance of gaining international experience for students in the field. An exchange semester in the United States gave Vulić the opportunity to analyze x-ray data that complements the radiowave research she was able to do in Croatia.

As Vulić explains, that astrophysical data is the culmination of years of preparation—and a few 30-second rotations using a space telescope.

“It doesn’t sound like much, but you can get enough data from that 30 seconds,” said Vulić. “But it takes a lot of time to reduce the data, to do all of the calculations.”

“Basically, my job as an astrophysicist is, I’m sitting behind my laptop and I’m working with these data,” she said.

She and other astrophysicists are trying to find galaxies in the process of evolution, merging and changing shape over time. Those changes could inform other scientists on the origin of our own galaxy, the Milky Way, as well as predict its future. 

Vulić sees her experiences at UC as the first stage of a career in academic research.

She is polishing up her master’s thesis, preparing to defend it and graduate when she returns to Croatia in May. She has already applied to a handful of doctoral programs in the hopes of continuing her academic journey and research.

Her first priority? Finding a program with close access to space telescopes. Vulić notes that the best space telescopes are controlled by NASA and the European Space Agency, so her most likely choices will be in the United States, Germany or Denmark.

“I like Cincinnati, but if I come [to the United States] again, probably I’ll go somewhere more southern where it’s warm…. We have all four seasons, but not in one week!”

No matter where Vulić ventures next, she has a stellar future ahead of her.

Feature image at top: Vulić captured a photo of the stars during an outing with the UC Mountaineering Club. Photo/provided.