Chao-Chin Yang, Zhaohuan Zhu, Stephen Lepp, and Xiao Hu receive NASA Astrophysics Theory Program grant

Chao-Chin Yang, Zhaohuan Zhu, Stephen Lepp, and Xiao Hu just were awarded a $474,315 research grant by NASA through the Astrophysics Theory Program. They will conduct state-of-the-art computer simulations to model a circumstellar disk around a young star and study the dust-gas dynamics in the disk. The investigation will help us understand the variety of morphological features such as rings and gaps in nearby circumstellar disks detected recently by high-resolution, high-contrast observations. It will also improve the understanding of the process of planet formation. Zhu and Lepp are co-investigators on the project, and Hu is a collaborator.

The text courtesy an original announcement in UNLV Today.

Chao-Chin Yang, Zhaohuan Zhu and Stephen Lepp receive NASA Emerging Worlds Program grant

Chao-Chin Yang, Zhaohuan Zhu and Stephen Lepp just were awarded a $456,315 research grant by NASA through the Emerging Worlds Program. They will investigate one of the most difficult stages in the course of planet formation, for example, how kilometer-scale planetesimals can be built from pebble-sized materials around a young star before a planet can be fully assembled. By conducting state-of-the-art computer simulations and comparing the results with the properties of the Kuiper Belt objects observed in our own solar system, they will be able to test the leading theory of planetesimal formation at unprecedentedly high resolutions. The investigation will further improve our understanding of the origins of the solar system as well as the thousands of the extrasolar planetary systems. Zhu and Lepp are co-investigators on the project.

The text courtesy an original announcement in UNLV Today.