Morningside Heights to the Moon: Columbia STAR Program Aims to Expand Access to Astronomy Education Uptown

While growing up, Daniel Yahalomi (GSAS'25) would peel through the pages of books like The Hidden Reality and Cosmos, sparking his curiosity in the world of astrophysics. Attending STEM-focused summer camps in high school and interacting with mentors, such as theoretical physicist and cosmologist Stephon Alexander and Professor David Spergel, would deepen his affinity for the field. The culmination of these experiences opened his eyes to the galaxy of career paths that exist in the realm of astronomy. 

Now, through the creation of the Columbia Student Training in Astronomy Research (STAR) Mentoring Program, launched in 2024, he's on a mission to ensure local youth have access to the same learning opportunities. In New York City, programs centered on astronomy education are few and far between. Cognizant of the dearth of STEM education programs, Yahalomi and a collective of other PhD students from Columbia's Department of Astronomy are using Columbia STAR to fill the gaps. 

Rooted in discovery and mentorship, the community-driven initiative offers paid research opportunities for high school students in Morningside Heights. Students participate in projects that cover everything from asteroids to astrophysical simulations. The program currently serves youth from Columbia Secondary School.

Columbia Neighbors spoke with Yahalomi about the mission and vision behind the Columbia STAR program and how it aims to expand access to STEM education locally and increase representation in the astronomy industry.

Were you involved in any STEM education-focused programs while growing up? How did your participation in these programs shape your path?

My mom is an academic and an economist, so I was raised in this world of being exposed to a variety of careers across academia. Through that, I was able to meet astronomers. In high school, I participated in astronomy-focused summer programs and was able to dive into research early on.

These research experiences led me to fall in love with the science and the process of asking these big questions about space and trying to find the answers. Getting to discuss my ideas and interact with several scientific mentors was transformational because, in every journey, there are moments when you have doubts. For me, knowing I had the support and belief of these people who had gone through it and came out on the other side was essential.

What inspired the creation of the Columbia STAR Mentoring Program?

The inspiration comes from a couple of places. Before I joined Columbia, I was working as a researcher in Boston at Harvard University for two years. When I was there, I got involved in a similar program called the Harvard Science Research Mentoring Program, which was modeled after an initiative at the American Museum of Natural History. This program provided paid research opportunities for students from local public high schools, with an emphasis on providing mentorship for students from underserved backgrounds. When I started at Columbia, it was during COVID, and the program went remote. I co-directed it virtually for a couple of years while I was in New York.

Being in the city, I realized there was a need for astronomy research opportunities for the many students in Morningside Heights, Harlem, and the broader New York City community who otherwise wouldn’t have access to these research and science experiences. I felt like the need could be met through Columbia’s resources and the astronomy department.

I attribute a significant part of why I’m currently in astronomy to some really transformational mentors, teachers, and professors who encouraged me to pursue the interest I had in this space. I thought it was essential to try to build a more formal way for these types of opportunities to exist in communities where students may not have the chance to interact with astronomers and scientists.

From your perspective, what are some of the causes of underrepresentation in astronomy? How can we change the narrative?

There’s what’s often called a leaky pipeline in science and engineering fields. As you get to higher levels of academia, there’s an underrepresentation of certain groups. I think this comes from several systemic factors, and it starts at an early level.

If you look at the opportunities provided to students who come from a certain background and are able to attend private schools, they’re able to participate in different programs and get access to these scientific experiences early. Their training and facilities for science are typically much better. It provides them with such a leg up when they go to college—they’re already a step ahead.

When there’s a lack of access to opportunities for other students, it becomes difficult to catch up. I don’t think one solution on its own will solve everything, but it’s essential to start building a better framework of education and mentorship early on.

People are amazing, and if you give them the opportunity to do amazing things, they will. The dream of this program is to provide those opportunities, guidance, and support for students who are naturally curious and excited about science and astronomy. We want to encourage them to follow their interests and hopefully continue down those paths.

How are you using the Columbia STAR program to fill the gap when it comes to expanding access to astronomy education on a local level?

Since we’re a new program, right now we only have the capacity to support ten students a year, and we’re working with one school at a time. We would love to expand the breadth of outreach for our program further in the future and work in unison with similar programs.

At Columbia, in the astronomy department, we’re actively thinking of ways to reach broader groups of people. Members of the department, led by our new outreach coordinator Amanda Quirk, are working towards building the program’s curriculum. We hope to connect with more schools and do things like one-off talks on astronomy research and share what we’re working on. There is a dearth of astronomy-related education in schools, and it would be nice to supplement that through our program.

What are some of the projects the students worked on?

Three teams were mentored by two PhD students each. This year our mentors were Ben Cassese, Marguerite Epstein-Martin, Soichiro Hattori, Matthew Scoggins, Justin Vega, and myself. One project is focused on the impact rate of the lunar surface. Another project was centered on looking for asteroids in our solar system and how smaller objects in the foreground could distort our ability to accurately model the distance of planets. The third group studied the orbital characteristics of exoplanets which are planets outside of our own Solar System. It was a coding-intensive project that explored black holes and high-energy phenomena. The projects were all on quite different scales. 

We want students participating in the Columbia STAR program to bring back what they’re learning to their communities. For example, hopefully, people would be inspired to learn more about astronomy by hearing a 10th grader from the Bronx break down how to simulate the impact rate of craters on the moon. I think that’s a pretty powerful thing.

Can you share some memorable program impact stories?

At one point during the program, I had the students take time to reflect on the science goals of their projects, the steps they’ve taken to make progress, and the next steps. Getting to hear them articulate this complicated science project they’d been working on for a couple of months was rewarding. It’s always incredible to see how much they’ve learned and how much work they’ve accomplished. For me, it’s a reminder of how privileged I am to work with this type of program. While this program is just finishing up its first year, there are already several signs of success. For example, all ten students are on track to complete the program. Six of the ten students are co-authors on papers to be submitted to scientific journals.

I genuinely know my science has improved by participating in programs like Columbia STAR, both because it forces you to teach the work in a way where you discover a deeper understanding of it, and you’re working with students who are approaching it with a new perspective.

These students are looking at the work with fresh eyes and don’t have the biases or assumptions that someone who has been working in astronomy for four to 10 years or even several decades might have. Having these conversations with students who ask great questions forces you to go deep into the weeds of the work you’re doing and has helped me a lot. It’s an added benefit, in my experience, to work with these programs.

What are your thoughts on the importance of community-driven STEM education programs?

Science and outreach should be looked at as two parts of the same, not as separate entities. To be an effective scientist, you have to not only do the science but also be able to share it with the community. There’s no benefit in doing science if it only stays with you.

In our case, with astronomy research, we want to actively engage with the community around us. Columbia is a very well-resourced University right in the middle of one of the biggest cities in the world, so we have this obligation to engage with the broader New York City community in the research we're doing.

What is on the horizon for the Columbia STAR program?

I am moving on to a post-doc at MIT next year, so I will pass the directorship of the program to two of our associate directors, Alexandra Masegian and Marguerite Epstein-Martin, who are still graduate students at Columbia.

We’re still going to work with the Columbia Secondary School and will increase our program size to 12 students. On the long-term horizon, it would be nice to be able to expand both in terms of partnerships with other schools and the number of students we serve. We’re trying to think of how we can reach more students.

We’re currently part of this terrific collective of similar high school research-focused programs called the NYC Science Research and Mentoring Consortium. It’s helpful to be part of that group and think through problems around access to STEM education on a larger scale through collaboration. 

The Columbia STAR program has been tremendous in its first year, and is already very oversubscribed with the number of applicants versus the number of spots in the program, further showing the need for more opportunities like this one. We want to focus on sustainability and making sure the excitement for Columbia STAR is maintained in our department and across the University, so we can keep it running. We want to continue to draw interest and provide scientific research opportunities. It would be great to host talks at Columbia Secondary School and organize sessions where some of the Columbia STAR program participants can talk about their work and share what they’ve learned with their friends and peers.

A big part of making this program possible relies on funding possibilities. We are very grateful for support from the Pinkerton Foundation, American Astronomical Society—through its National Osterbrock Leadership Program—and Columbia's Department of Astronomy. 

There are a large number of people who have helped allow this program to exist. From the graduate student mentors who take the time out of their busy weeks to be involved in the program, to the faculty in the department who have been very supportive in guiding us. It’s really been a communal effort and a pleasure to work with a lot of incredible people. Particularly, I am very grateful to members of our faculty advisory board—Professor David Helfand, Professor Ruth Angus, and Professor Reshmi Mukherjee—who have been instrumental in the program’s development and implementation.

Any book recommendations you have for youth who are curious about astronomy?

When I was in high school, I really enjoyed reading Brian Greene’s books. Greene is a professor of physics and mathematics at Columbia. Some of my favorites were The Hidden Reality and The Elegant Universe.

I also enjoy Stephon Alexander’s work. He’s a professor at Brown University and one of the figures who mentored me early on and played a large role in my pursuing astronomy. One of his books I’d recommend is The Jazz of Physics: The Secret Link Between Music and the Structure of the Universe.

Then there are the classics like Carl Sagan’s Cosmos book. Aside from books, David Kipping—my advisor at Columbia—has a YouTube channel called Cool Worlds Lab where he posts videos on astronomy and other science-related topics. I think it’s a great resource.

Learn more about the Columbia STAR Mentoring Program.