As an enthusiastic UM-Dearborn undergrad, Kristen Dage asked Astronomy Associate Professor Will Clarkson if there were any openings for research work. After receiving a list, Dage chose a project where she would measure the effect that a neutron star — a compact stellar remnant with extreme properties like gravitational pull — has on the movement and appearance of a relatively normal stellar companion near it.
The project, a bit more technical than described above (you can read a published paper), helps inform astrophysical phenomena at all scales.
“This particular neutron star has about the same mass as the sun but it’s about the size of Dearborn. If it were any more compact, we’d get a black hole,” said Clarkson, who started this research when he was a doctoral student. “There’s a lot of really compact exotic nuclear material. We wanted to see how the system works.”
That was a decade ago. Dage graduated from UM-Dearborn in 2014. But her observation and data collection with Clarkson is ongoing — as is Dage’s interest in astronomy, astrophysics, neutron stars and black holes.
Dage earned her Ph.D. in Astronomy and Astrophysics from Michigan State University in 2020 — her acceptance letter is hanging in Clarkson’s office. She’s completing an independent fellowship at McGill University in Montréal, Québec. And now she’s working with NASA.
On April 4, Dage was named of the 24 people internationally that NASA selected for its prestigious annual postdoctoral NASA Hubble Fellowship Program.
As a NASA Einstein Fellow, a subset of the award, Dage needed to design research around the question, “How does the universe work?” She will conduct a study that will explore how compact objects evolve in dense stellar environments. Her work will enable, for the first time, the creation of a catalog of putative — or presumed to exist — intermediate mass black holes in young star clusters.
“Neutron stars hold so much information. They are a key to unlocking the universe’s secrets,” said Dage, noting that neutron stars are rich laboratories to understand physics, including gravitational physics, nuclear and particle physics, and plasma astrophysics. Dage said since the processes that happen in a neutron star cannot be replicated in labs on Earth, researchers study them where they are.
The NASA fellowships, which are limited to individuals only a few years post-doc, provide three years of independent research support. Because the applicant needs to be sponsored by an institution, only top candidates are put forward.
“I’m very happy about this recognition, but I also know there are many deserving people out there. I know how lucky I am. This is not about me; it’s about all of the people who helped make this happen,” Dage said. “Before working with Will, I didn’t even know that I wanted to go into astronomy. I didn’t know it could be a career. Will helped me see what was possible. He put me on this path. And I’m going to do whatever I can to pay it forward.”
Dage mentors students conducting research through her MOOSE (Monitoring Observations Of SMC X-1's Excursions) Lab. They have a logo and a secret handshake. Her pride is palpable when she talks about how one of her students was recently accepted into graduate school. And she is still collaborating with Clarkson, who gives feedback to her students over Zoom when they are practicing presentations. “He gives the best feedback and my students benefit from the advice he gives,” Dage said.
The first time Dage gave a presentation, Clarkson told her, “You’ll be nervous for three minutes and then your natural enthusiasm will take over.” Dage said he was right. Even though she’s an expert in her field, Dage still gets nervous right before public speaking — and reminds herself of this advice.
Dage said she shares the same lesson with her students today. She also encourages them to ask questions and have interests in a variety of areas — because you never know where that could lead.
Her love of observing birds encouraged her to attend Environmental Interpretive Center programming as a child, which made her familiar with UM-Dearborn. Her interest in learning how the world works sparked an interest in physics. Knowing UM-Dearborn had a strong physics program, she transferred after attending Oakland Community College. And that interest in physics led to wanting to test fundamental physics beyond Earth’s limitations. Cue Clarkson and his undergraduate research opportunity.
Clarkson said it was his first day setting foot on campus — in fact, during his job interview at UM-Dearborn — when Dage approached him. He’s had good mentors himself throughout his education and one of the things that attracted him to UM-Dearborn was the ability to work on research with undergraduates. There’s a learning curve for those students, but Clarkson likes how it brings in curious and talented students early.
“We have great students at UM-Dearborn. Our job as educators and advisers is to teach them what we know, connect them with opportunities and collaborators and then get out of their way and let them flourish,” Clarkson said. “It was clear from the beginning that Kristen was exceptional. She was creative, curious, determined and displayed all the qualities you want to see in a future researcher, even at an early career stage. She is now leading international research projects and asks me to collaborate with her. And I couldn’t be more pleased.”
Among their current collaborations: Dage’s first research project at UM-Dearborn. Clarkson and Dage continue to catalog that neutron star and its impact. The dataset ranges from 1996 until now.
For her NASA fellowship, Dage will return to metro Detroit and work out of Wayne State University. She said this will give her the opportunity to stop in at UM-Dearborn’s campus and see some of her favorite people. She said doors were always open to her as a student, and that continues today.
And, in one of those offices, there are now two papers hanging up with her name on them. After she read her NASA acceptance letter, she sent it over to her mentor.
“I wrote, ‘Print this and put it next to the other letter’ to Will,” she said. “I am where I am today because of Will. I feel very lucky to have gone to UM-Dearborn. I met wonderful people who opened doors. Those opened doors made opportunities like this happen for me.”
Article by Sarah Tuxbury.
