CV | Diego Garza

Diego Garza Astrophysicist in Training

You can find a PDF version here

Education

Ph.D. Astronomy & Astrophysics

The University of California at Santa Cruz (2023 - 2029)

Master of Science in Astronomy & Astrophysics

The University of California at Santa Cruz (2023 - 2025)

Bachelor of Arts in Physics, Bachelor of Science (Honors) in Astronomy & Astrophysics

The University of Chicago (2019 - 2023) | GPA: 3.67

Associate of Science Degree

Lone Star College (2016 - 2019) | GPA: 3.96

High School Diploma

Victory Early College High School (2015 - 2019) | GPA: 3.98

Research Experience

Imprints of Dynamical Dark Energy in the Lyman-Alpha Forest

University of California: Department of Astronomy & Astrophysics | Supervised by: Brant Robertson | September 2023 – Present

- Analyze high-resolution hydrodynamic cosmological simulations which incorporate a time-evolving dark energy equation of state

- Highlight a spectral- and redshift- dependent feature in the transmitted flux power spectrum when comparing between dynamical dark energy and standard LCDM models

Chemo-Dynamic Properties of the Fastest Stars in the Milky Way

University of Texas at Austin: Dept. of Astronomy | Supervised by: Keith Hawkins & Tyler Nelson | June 2022 – October 2023

- Analyze chemical properties of fast stars in the Galaxy using Gaia DR3 to chemically tag them onto a stellar population

- Analyze MCMC orbit integration of the fastest stars to physically determine their origins

Caustic Properties in Outskirts of Dark Matter Halos

University of Chicago: Department of Astronomy & Astrophysics | Supervised by: Susmita Adhikari & Andrey Kravtsov | February 2021 – June 2023

- Analyze density histories of cold dark matter halos using cold dark matter simulations

- Study phase space structures in solid angle bins to develop an algorithm to identify the splash back radius of cluster-sized dark matter halos in simulations

LADEE Data Analysis of the Lunar Exosphere

NASA: Goddard Space Flight Center | Supervised by: Orenthal J. Tucker | June 2022 – August 2022

- Analyzed how chemical abundances in the Lunar Exosphere changes with respect to local lunar time using data from the Lunar Atmosphere and Dust Environment Explorer spacecraft

ChicagO Optically-selected Lenses - Located at the Margins of Public Surveys (COOL-LAMPS)

University of Chicago: Department of Astronomy & Astrophysics | Supervised by: Michael D. Gladders | January 2022 – June 2022

- Identified galaxy candidates using extragalactic spectroscopic DECamera Legacy Survey

- Utilized the surface brightness modeling software GALFIT to describe galaxy mass distribution, providing information on stellar population synthesis

Study of Gaseous Argon Time Projection Chambers

Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory: Neutrino Division | Supervised by: David Caratelli & Angela Fava | June 2021 - August 2021

- Analyzed setups of gaseous Argon time projection chambers for low energy nuclear recoils using simulation software of Argon ion trajectories into gaseous Argon to model, optimize, and study both position and energy resolution

- Created supplemented research material for electron charge amplification in liquid Argon

Teaching Experience

Lecturer

Project for Inmate Education | June 2024 - Present

- Teach astronomy, pre-algebra, and college algebra to incarcerated people at the Santa Cruz County Main Jail, allowing students to earn college credit at no personal cost

Teaching Assistant

Diverse Universe: Stars, Planets, Galaxies | March 2024 – June 2024, March 2025 – June 2025

- Develop supplementary material to lecture and lead discussion sections for the “intro to astronomy” course aimed at students interested in pursuing an astronomy + astrophysics major

- Create homework solutions, grade homework, and be readily available to answer astronomy-related questions

Teaching Assistant

Computational Techniques in Astrophysics | March 2022 – June 2022, March 2023 – June 2023

- Hold open office hours 5-8 hours weekly helping students on coding projects related to techniques used in everyday astrophysics research including integration techniques, function approximation, Machine Learning, MCMC, and ODEs

Physics Tutor

University of Chicago: Department of Physics | October 2021 – March 2022

- Hold open hours for peer tutoring aimed at undergraduate students in the introductory physics sequences

Service, Outreach, Mentorship

UC Santa Cruz: Dept. of A&A, Graduate Admissions Committee

December 2025 – Present

- Evaluate applicants to the Dept. of A&A’s graduate doctoral program on a holistic scale over their academic preparation, research experience, professional maturity, reaction to adversity, and community engagement

- Discuss nomination to shortlist, interview, and admit applicants with committee consisting of 5 faculty members and 4 graduate students

UC Santa Cruz: Dept. of A&A, DEI Committee

October 2024 – Present

- Develop programming promoting diversity, equity, and inclusion for underrepresented peoples internal to the Dept. of A&A

- Schedule open discussions to highlight the available resources and roles of faculty members to support graduate students

- Organize panel discussions on the role of post-doctoral researchers and application to fellowships for graduate students

- Secure internal department funding for early career scientists to attend identity-based conference (2025 Joint National Society of Black Physicists and National Society of Hispanic Physicists Conference)

UC Santa Cruz: Dept. of A&A, Colloquium Committee

October 2024 – Present

- Gather suggested speakers from graduate students and post-doctoral researchers within the Dept. of A&A

- Highlight and advocate for an invitation to traditionally underrepresented and early career scientists to present at weekly colloquium

- Identify and communicate with graduate students who hold similar research interests as colloquium speaker to volunteer as graduate student host where they: (1) Present a Pre-Colloquium Paper Discussion the day before colloquium on a recently published paper by the colloquium speaker, (2) Lead discussion during the graduate student lunch with the colloquium speaker, and (3) Guide speaker to lunch and either their guest office or next meeting

SEDS-UChicago Vice President, Treasurer

March 2020 – June 2023

- Plan and coordinate weekly meetings, events, and workshops to help students with model rocketry and high-powered rocketry certification

- Outreach and coordinate logistics to industry professionals to plan for the national conference SpaceVision 2022 hosted at UChicago

- Manage the funds for my school’s SEDS chapter. Write and defend grant proposals from SEDS-USA and UChicago Student Government’s Financial Committee

Moneythink Mentor

November 2019 – June 2023

- Mentor local Chicago high school students on the importance and process of financial literacy. Provide advice on post-graduation plans including college and trade school

SACNAS Secretary, Member

October 2020 – June 2022

- Develop events and programming to engage with minority students on campus and take notes during leadership meetings

Kavli Institute Space Explorers Instructor

June 2021 – January 2022

- Design, develop, and document summer curriculum for high school students

Odyssey Community Scholars Fellow

September 2020 – June 2021

- Write, edit, and develop a First-Generation Low-Income Catalog documenting resources and providing advice from shared experiences at the University of Chicago for incoming students from disadvantaged backgrounds

- Share important issues and suggested solutions with the Dean of Students in the University as a speaker for the Odyssey Scholar community