Dr. Vital Fernández is a postdoctoral researcher at the Space Telescope Science Institute, specializing in the chemodynamics of low-metallicity star-forming regions and the development of software for spectral analysis. He earned PhDs in astrophysics (INAOE, Mexico) and aeronautical engineering (ONERA, France), and has held postdoctoral positions at La Serena University (Chile) and the University of Michigan, contributing to the CEERS and CAPERS surveys. He is the lead developer of LiMe (https://lime-stable.readthedocs.io/en/latest/), a package for spectral line measurements, and is developing ASPECT (https://github.com/Vital-Fernandez/aspect), a machine learning algorithm for feature detection in spectra. At STScI, he works on projects combining ionized gas emission with stellar and nebular continua to advance our understanding of star-forming regions and the early evolution of galaxies. These results and tools are also available through SpecSy (https://specsy.streamlit.app/), an open-source virtual observatory hosting data and analysis software from his collaborations.

Dr. Macarena G. del Valle-Espinosa joined STScI in October 2024 as postdoctoral researcher working with Dr. Matilde Mingozzi, Dr. Bethan James and Dr. Alessandra Aloisi. Dr. G. del Valle-Espinosa is an expert on star-formation and gas chemistry in the low-mass, low-metallicity regime, using IFS techniques in the optical (ground-based IFUs) and in the mid-IR (JWST MIRI/MRS). At STScI, she is studying the mid-IR properties (such as molecular gas and dust content) of high-z local analogues.

Dr. Svea Hernandez is an ESA/AURA Astronomer at the Space Telescope Science Institute. The research of Dr. Hernandez focuses on the chemical enrichment histories of nearby galaxies. She recently showed for the first time that detailed abundance analysis (measurements of individual elements) is feasible using intermediate-resolution (R~5000-8800) spectroscopy of extragalactic star clusters.  She is particularly interested in the evolution of galaxies through cosmic time, including their stellar, neutral- and ionized-gas components. In addition to her primary work, Dr. Hernandez explores star-forming galaxies, dust contents and their relevance to the epoch of reionization. She is a spectroscopist, experienced in wavelengths from the Far-UV all the way to NIR. She is considered a COS expert, with ample experience  collecting and calibrating both space and ground observations. 

Since joining the institute in 2016 as an ESA/AURA Astronomer, Dr James has been a member of the instrument division. Here Dr James makes full use of her expertise in UV-optical-IR  spectroscopy as the Deputy Manager of the JWST/NIRSpec Instrument Branch. Her research focuses on star-forming galaxies throughout the Universe, with particular emphasis on metal-poor starburst galaxies. Dr James specializes in using spatially resolved UV/optical IFU-based observations to explore their chemical and physical properties. The main aim of her research is to understand how metals, star-formation, and the in/outflow of gas interplay with one another as galaxies form and evolve. Her work harnesses the magnification of gravitational lenses to map and explore these properties at high-redshift, or uses local analogues of unevolved systems (e.g. metal-poor dwarf galaxies) to conduct highly detailed studies. Dr James has a particular interest in using local star-forming systems to develop spectroscopic diagnostics for the high-z observations that are now being offered by JWST and the ELTs. 

Dr. Logan Jones is a postdoctoral researcher working with the ISM group (and previously with Dr. Svea Hernandez) to understand the flow of metals between star clusters and the ISM. A spectroscopist at heart, he splits his time between the ultraviolet (HST/COS), the mid-infrared (JWST/MIRI), and the millimeter (ALMA, NOEMA) regimes to gain multiple perspectives on star formation, stellar feedback, and ISM enrichment. He is the author of the full spectral fitting code SESAMME, a Python package for Simultaneous Estimates of Star-cluster Age, Metallicity, Mass, and Extinction that is used to model the integrated light of individual extragalactic star clusters. His current projects include a joint analysis of JWST/MIRI spectroscopy and ALMA observations of the core of spiral galaxy M83, with the hope of untangling the relationship between massive star formation and the creation of warm molecular gas untraced by CO in a highly star-forming environment.

Dr. Matilde Mingozzi is an ESA/AURA Astronomer at STScI, and since November 2023 has been a member of the HST/STIS instrument team. Her work is mainly focused on the analysis and interpretation of the multi-phase interstellar medium chemical and physical properties in nearby star-forming galaxies with HST/COS, JWST/MIRI-MRS and supporting optical ground-based observations, including VLT-MUSE and SDSS spectroscopy. Her research interests and previous work are related to probing and interpreting the physics and properties of the interstellar medium, feedback and outflows in AGN and star-forming objects through the use of integral field spectroscopy, comparing observed MUSE and ALMA data with ionization models, and exploiting the large statistics given by the SDSSIV-MaNGA survey.

Dr.  Adarsh Ranjan joined STScI as a postdoctoral researcher working with Dr. Bethan James. Dr. Ranjan is an expert in the analysis of the neutral and ionized interstellar medium, with a focus on understanding chemical abundances, kinematics, and the evolution of galaxies at high and low redshift. Using UV and optical spectral synthesis, he has worked on constraining the physical properties of gas and the stellar populations within merging and star-forming galaxies.

Dr. Ryan Rickards Vaught joined STScI in August 2024 as a postdoctoral researcher working with Dr. Matilde Mingozzi, Dr. Bethan James and Dr. Alessandra Aloisi. Dr. Rickards Vaught is an expert on chemical abundances, especially in the low-metallicity regime. At STScI, he is using optical (KCWI) and mid-IR (MIRI) IFU data to characterize the physical and chemical properties of high-z local analogues.

As an ESA/AURA astronomer, Dr Nimisha Kumari divides her time with the ESA/JWST Science & Operation Team at the Space Telescope Science Institute (STScI) and conducting her research. She previously served on the HST/COS team as an STScI Prize Fellow. Kumari’s research is mainly driven by questions related to galaxy formation and evolution, focussing on its three fundamental properties - chemical abundances, star-formation and gas-dynamics. She addresses theses questions via observations studies of emission line galaxies, primarily using integral field and multi-object spectrographs. However, she is also experienced with ultraviolet spectroscopy and multi-wavelength (FUV, optical, IR, radio) data analysis from various ground-based and space-borne instruments.