Project Grant 2544445

The National Science Foundation (NSF), Division of Astronomical Sciences, awarded $533,998 to the University of California, Berkeley under the Mathematical and Physical Sciences program (CFDA 47.049) on July 1, 2026, for a five-year CAREER project extending through June 30, 2031. This award funds a comprehensive research initiative to characterize the composition and distribution of ices in protoplanetary disks—the regions around young stars where planets form. The project delivers three primary research products: (1) laboratory experimental data on volatile sublimation behavior and temperature-dependent ice compositions under astrophysically realistic conditions; (2) machine learning (ML) models and computational tools to predict ice distribution patterns in protoplanetary disks; and (3) observational analyses of exoplanet populations informed by ice composition findings.

Beyond core research deliverables, the award supports substantial education and workforce development products. The project funds graduate student training in laboratory, computational, and observational methodologies; develops undergraduate coursework in computer programming at UC Berkeley; provides paid summer internship opportunities for undergraduate researchers with broad recruitment to underrepresented populations; and creates a public outreach program on planetary habitability for presentation at local and regional planetariums. These integrated research and educational components position the award to advance fundamental understanding of planet formation processes while building technical capacity in the next generation of scientists and enhancing public scientific literacy.