Paul and Vince warmly welcome Jared Goldberg, a Research Fellow in Stars and Compact Objects at the Center for Computational Astrophysics at NYC’s Flatiron Institute. Jared holds a Ph.D. in Physics from UC Santa Barbara and a double major in Physics and Philosophy from Claremont McKenna College. During his Ph.D., he received several honors, including the UC Regents Fellowship, NSF Graduate Research Fellowship, and Chair’s Appreciation Award for outreach. Passionate about teaching and outreach, Jared uses computational modeling with the stars and compact objects group to study the structure and evolution of massive stars.

1.

Paul & Vince: How did you come to be in New York and in your current career?

Jared: I studied physics and philosophy in college, and I decided to do my senior thesis on what happens when planets fall into stars. As in, what happens to the star when it eats a planet, early in its life? And that gave me a taste for research into stars. Which led me to UC Santa Barbara, where I earned my Ph.D.

Paul & Vince: Physics and philosophy sound like a really great combination.

Jared: Yes, they’re both problem-solving majors, which has been helpful in my work. Now, my research focuses on how the light from exploding stars relates to the properties of the star that died. I’m at the Flatiron Institute, a computational research center on 21st and 5th Avenue, run by the Simons Foundation, which supports fundamental research in math and science. During my Ph.D., I collaborated with people here, so it was a natural fit for my post-doctoral fellowship. Beyond my research, many others here work on diverse projects. I recently co-authored a paper with a colleague studying galaxy simulations.

2.

Paul & Vince: Wow, the watercooler talk must really be something! So, what is a typical day on the job like for you?

Jared: My alarm goes off at 5:40 every morning. And then I walk into Central Park with the dog every morning at 6:30.

Paul & Vince: Wow. Very specific.

Jared: One thing about this job is its dynamic nature. Some days involve meetings with grad students from CUNY or Columbia. I’ll grab a coffee and sit with them, reviewing material on Betelgeuse. Other days, we focus on coding simulations, modeling a star as a 3D ball of material, running a shockwave through it, and calculating the light produced in the explosion. Ultimately, we aim to publish our findings in astrophysics journals for other scientists to build upon.

3.

Paul & Vince: That makes sense. What are a few things that most people wouldn’t realize about your job?

Jared: People often ask me, will the Sun explode? The answer is no. But if you’re looking for some existential dread, in 4–6 billion years, the Sun will expand into a red giant star and swallow the Earth. We’ll be long gone. This happens because the Sun’s core will run out of hydrogen, having fused it into helium. Hydrogen will continue fusing in a shell around the contracting helium core, causing the outer layers to expand. In this phase, Earth gets swallowed and eventually, the Sun will shrink into a white dwarf and cool forever.

4.

Paul & Vince: What are your favorite things to do in New York on your day off?

Jared: I love going to jazz shows, or comedy shows, or theater…all of that. And I live in Greeenwich Village, so I can walk anywhere. Since I’m from California, I really like large, open bodies of water, so one of my favorite places to stroll is just up and down the Hudson, and watch waves bounce and reflect off the concrete.

… and one more, Just For Fun

Paul & Vince: Okay, now for our Just For Fun Question. If you could take a year to try out a completely different job, what would you choose?

Jared:When I was a kid, I wanted to build guitars for a living. I loved to play around with different shapes, woods, structures…I loved to take things apart and understand how they worked. I did a science fair project in kindergarten on how sound waves travel in musical instruments. I was totally obsessed with guitars. I had a pink plastic guitar that I carried around with me everywhere. (Laughs)

Paul & Vince: So how would you turn that into a job now?

Jared: Well, maybe I’d have a little woodshop where I could experiment with all this…maybe with an open roof in some starry area. (Laughs)

Original artwork by Jolisa Robinson, Gavriani-Falcone Team Marketing