Elena González Prieto Receives Northwestern Presidential Fellowship
June 24, 2026
Congratulations to Astronomy PhD student, Elena González Prieto for receiving a Presidential Fellowship!
The Presidential Fellowship is the most prestigious fellowship awarded to graduate students by Northwestern University. It is awarded annually to graduate students who are nominated by their academic programs. A committee of accomplished faculty members from a range of disciplines and fields selected the fellowship recipients from an impressive pool of nominations.
Advised by Professor Fred Rasio, Elena's research centers on globular clusters, some of the oldest structures in the Universe, which provide important clues about how the Milky Way formed and evolved. Within globular clusters, stars and their remnants (such as black holes) are packed so closely together that they frequently encounter one another, and sometimes collide. When a black hole is involved in the collision, stars can be torn apart, giving rise to some of the most energetic observable phenomena in astrophysics. These fascinating outcomes of collisions establish globular clusters as unique laboratories for studying a broad range of high-energy phenomena in astrophysics.
To study these systems, Elena develops advanced computational tools that combine high-performance supercomputing with physically motivated AI models. This interdisciplinary approach makes it possible to simulate globular clusters with unprecedented speed and accuracy. Using these computational tools, she has produced some of the most detailed and realistic models of the Milky Way's largest globular cluster, providing a critical framework for interpreting observations from current and next-generation telescopes.
Elena’s research has been supported by a Northwestern University Data Science Fellowship and the NSF Graduate Research Fellowship Program. Before joining Northwestern, she earned a BS in astrophysics from the University of Florida. Elena is also deeply committed to mentorship and service, serving in leadership roles within Graduate Womxn in Physics and mentoring students through the LAMAT and REACH programs.