Miguel Mostafá appointed director of the Center for Multimessenger Astrophysics
The Internal Advisory Board of the Center for Multimessenger Astrophysics has appointed Miguel Mostafá, professor of Physics and of Astronomy and Astrophysics, as the center Director.
The Center for Multimessenger Astrophysics, formerly Center for Particle and Gravitational Astrophysics, works to understand processes in the universe. Notably, the faculty team is involved in eight major international projects: the Pierre Auger Cosmic Ray Observatory, the IceCube Neutrino Observatory, the Swift Gamma-Ray Burst Explorer satellite, the Chandra X-ray Observatory, the XMM-Newton X-ray Observatory, the Laser Interferometric Gravitational Wave Observatory, the North American Nanohertz Observatory for Gravitational-waves, and the High Altitude Water Cherenkov Gamma-Ray Observatory.
"Multimessenger Astrophysics is one of the ten priority areas singled out by the National Science Foundation in its future plans,” said Abhay Ashtekar, Evan Pugh Professor of Physics, holder of the Eberly Family Chair in Physics, and director of the Penn State Institute for Gravitation and the Cosmos. “We are all extremely pleased that Miguel Mostafá will now assume the center’s directorship. Miguel has fresh and compelling ideas to launch new interdisciplinary research initiatives, enhance diversity and further raise our profile in outreach. His own seminal research contributions coupled with his creative vision place him in an ideal leadership position to propel the center to even greater heights."
Mostafá was recently selected as the new associate dean for research and innovation for the Eberly college of science. He has served as a mentor in the Millennium Scholars Program and Summer Research Opportunities Program. He is also a faculty mentor for students in the Women in Science and Engineering Research and Minority Undergraduate Research Experience programs of the NASA's Pennsylvania Space Grant Consortium, and the faculty advisor of the Latin American Graduate Student Association.
"It is a great honor to serve as the Director of the Center for Multimessenger Astrophysics,” said Mostafá. “I am deeply grateful to Professor Peter Meszaros for his vision, dedication, and passion with which he has led the Center until now, and also to Professor Abhay Ashtekar for his continued support. In this position I hope to be able to promote interdisciplinary research in multimessenger astrophysics, to maintain a strong international leadership in Astrophysical Multimessenger Observatory Network, to organize national and international workshops and focus sessions, to supervise the series of seminars and outreach activities, and to continue to enhance the visibility of the Center."
Mostafá is an elected Fellow of the American Physical Society and was recognized for his dedication to undergraduate teaching in 2016 with the C.I. Noll Award from the Eberly College of Science. His previous awards and honors include Best Teacher Awards from the Colorado State University’s Alumni Association and the Student Alumni Connection, the Outstanding Mentor Award presented by the Students as Leaders in Science at the Colorado State University in 2009, and the Students Choice Award sponsored by the Associated Students of the University of Utah in 2007.
Before joining Penn State in 2013, Mostafá was an associate professor of physics at Colorado State University. He earned a master’s degree in nuclear engineering in 1996 and a doctoral degree in high-energy particle physics in 2001 at the Instituto Balseiro in Argentina.