About Abi

Hi, I’m Abigail Polin. I am a theoretical and computational astrophysicist and a professor of physics and astronomy at Purdue Univserity. Before moving to Indiana I worked as a joint postdoctoral research fellow at Carnegie Observatories and Caltech in Pasadena, CA. I completed my PhD in 2020 at the University of Califonia, Berkeley, working with my thesis advisors Peter Nugent and Dan Kasen.

My research spans the area of astrophysical transients. I create hydrodynamical simulations to examine the theory behind astrophysical explosions, then perform radiative transport calculations to produce testable predictions that can be compared directly to observed data.

Recently I was awarded the NERSC Early Career Award for High Impact Scientific Achievement for my work modeling the sub-Chandrasekhar mass pathway to Type Ia Supernovae. My recipient talk can be found here.

Follow this link for an up to date list of publications.