H Perry Hatchfield (he/him) is a NASA Postdoctoral Fellow at JPL, studying the formation of stars and gas flows in the Milky Way’s Galactic Center using techniques of both observational and computational astrophysics.
Hi! I’m H Perry.
I’m currently a NASA Postdoctoral Fellow at JPL in the Structure of the Universe group, where I use observations and magnetohydrodynamic simulations to study gas dynamics and star formation in the Milky Way’s Galactic Center. I am also a research associate at the University of Connecticut in The Milky Way Laboratory. Read more about my research interests here.
I’m a writer for Astrobites, and sometimes write about physics at my blog, physicsandyou.com. Sharing my love for physics and astronomy is one of the great joys of my life, and I do my best to take topics that seem arcane and inaccessible and make them more approachable for a much broader audience.
Outside of my work, I’m a big fan of writing and reading poetry and science fiction, playing the mandolin, board games, running too many D&D campaigns, hiking, and rock climbing.
What I Do –
Data Science and Visualization (under construction)
Where I’ve Been –
PhD in Physics, University of Connecticut
(2016 – 2022)
I earned my Ph.D. in Physics at the University of Connecticut’s department of physics, advised by Professor Cara Battersby in the Milky Way Laboratory. My work is focused on star formation and the Milky Way’s Galactic Center using techniques of both observational and computational astronomy. I achieved PhD candidacy and was awarded a Masters degree in Physics in Spring 2019.
Oberlin College (2012 – 2016)
I earned a B.A. in physics and a B.A. in creative writing at Oberlin College. I graduated with high honors from the physics department, where my research focused on the unusual (and as of yet entirely theoretical) spacetime due to cosmic strings and massive filaments. My creative writing work was focused on prose poetry.
H Perry Hatchfield 