News

April 19, 2024: JILA Undergraduate Research Assistant Aaron Barrios is Awarded a 2024 Jacob Van Ek Scholarship
Undergraduate research assistant Aaron Barrios has been awarded a Jacob Van Ek Scholarship for 2024 for his work with JILA Fellow Jason Dexter on black holes.

JILA undergraduate student Aaron Barrios has recently been honored with the prestigious Jacob Van Ek Scholarship, an accolade conferred by the University of Colorado Boulder College of Arts and Sciences to a select group of exceptional undergraduates. This year, Barrios is among 23 distinguished students to receive one of the college's highest honors, reflecting his outstanding contributions and academic excellence in the fields of Physics, Astronomy, and Mathematics.

June 01, 2022: JILA Graduate Students Tyler McMaken and Lia Hankla Awarded the 2022 Richard Nelson Thomas Award
Tyler McMaken (left) and Lia Hankla (right) were awarded the 2022 Richard Thomas Nelson award

Two JILA graduate students were awarded this year's Richard Nelson Thomas Award for Graduate Students in Astrophyiscs. This award is given annually in honor of Dr. Richard Nelson Thomas, a founding member of JILA and an astrophysics researcher. Dr. Thomas was instrumental in establishing JILA's Visiting Fellows program, as well as growing the institution as a whole. Because of Dr. Thomas' legacy, his family and friends established an annual award given to an outstanding graduate student in astrophysics. 

March 24, 2021: Jason Dexter Looks Deeper Into the First Image of a Black Hole
Image of the first black hole pictured

In a team of over 300 scientists, JILA Fellow and assistant professor in the Department of Astrophysical and Planetary Sciences, Jason Dexter digs further into the first picture ever taken of a black hole. His research has been recently published in a new paper for the Astrophysical Journal Letters. 

February 12, 2020: JILA Fellow Jason Dexter Wins 2020 Sloan Fellowship
Jason Dexter, JILA Fellow

JILA Fellow Jason Dexter has been selected for a 2020 Sloan Fellowship. 

September 06, 2019: Jason Dexter, JILA’s newest fellow, wins Breakthrough Prize
The first image of a black hole from the Event Horizon Telescope

Dexter is one of the 347 scientists who worked on the Event Horizon Telescope.