Kathryn Neugent, Pappalardo Fellow

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Area of Physics

Astrophysics (Instrumentation/Observation/Experiment)

Research Interests

Kathryn Neugent studies massive stars across the HR Diagram from hot OB and Wolf-Rayet stars, to cool yellow and red supergiants.

As primarily an observer, Kathryn regularly travels to telescopes in Chile, Hawaii and Arizona to better constrain the numbers and types of these stars in the Local Group galaxies M31, M33 and the Magellanic Clouds.

Her recent research focuses on using these massive stars in binary systems to determine how they might someday merge to form gravitational wave events detectable by LIGO. 

Biographical Sketch

Kathryn graduated from Wellesley College in 2010 with a double degree in Computer Science and Astronomy. She then worked for several years in cyber security and obtained her M.S. in Computer Science from George Washington University. However, she missed astronomy and decided to come back to the field a few years later.

In 2017 she obtained her M.S. in Applied Physics from Northern Arizona University, where she discovered and characterized a unique type of Wolf-Rayet star for her thesis.

For her Ph.D. dissertation at the University of Washington, Kathryn determined the red supergiant binary fraction as a function of metallicity throughout the Local Group galaxies, and graduated in 2021. In her free time, Kathryn enjoys hiking, knitting, and spending time with her animals.

Selected Publications

• Neugent, K. F., 2021, “The Red Supergiant Binary Fraction as a Function of Metallicity in M31 and M33,” ApJ, 908, 87
• Neugent, K. F., & Massey, P., 2019, “The Wolf-Rayet Content of the Galaxies of the Local Group and Beyond,” Review paper in MDPI Galaxies special issue on “Luminous Stars in Nearby Galaxies” ed. Roberta Humphreys
• Neugent, K. F., Massey, P., & Morrell, N. I., 2018, “A Modern Search for Wolf-Rayet Stars in the Magellanic Clouds. IV. A Final Census,” ApJ, 863, 181
• Neugent, K. F., Massey, P., Hillier, D. J., & Morrell, N. I. 2017, “The Evolution and Physical Parameters of WN3/O3s: a New Type of Wolf-Rayet Star,” ApJ, 841, 20
• Neugent, K. F., Massey, P., Skiff, B., & Meynet, G. 2012 “Yellow Supergiants in the Large Magellanic Cloud,” ApJ, 749, 177