Program News and Announcements

19 August 2024

NASA Selects 5 New Roman Technology Fellows in Astrophysics

NASA has awarded Nancy Grace Roman Technology Fellowships (RTF) to five early-career researchers in astrophysics for the class of 2023. The program will support the advancement of their ideas for new technologies to further the exploration of the universe.

This annual fellowship gives researchers the opportunity to develop the skills necessary to become principal investigators of future astrophysics missions, and fosters new talent by putting early-career instrument builders on track towards long-term positions. Specifically, the fellowship facilitates the development of skills necessary to lead astrophysics flight instrumentation development projects, as well as the development of innovative technologies that have the potential to enable major scientific breakthroughs.

The program’s name honors Dr. Nancy Grace Roman, the first female executive at NASA who created the agency’s first astronomical program. She is known as the “Mother of Hubble” for her foundational role in planning NASA’s Hubble Space Telescope. NASA’s forthcoming Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope is also named for her.

The five newly selected fellows are:

• Nicholas Kruczek (Instrument engineer, Laboratory for Atmospheric and Space Physics (LASP) at the University of Colorado, Boulder)
• Drew Miles (Research assistant professor, California Institute of Technology)
• Johanna Nagy (Warren E. Rupp Assistant Professor of Physics at Case Western Reserve University)
• Dustin Swarm (Postdoctoral Research Scholar in the Department of Physics & Astronomy at University of Iowa)
• Kyle Van Gorkom (Assistant research professor at Steward Observatory, University of Arizona)

For more information about the newly selected fellows, please visit the NASA web release.