The sky isn't the limit for national astronomy research honors

Fargo-native Gabriel Grant has garnered a fascination with the intangible. While that interest has led him to a personal study of philosophy, recently he's put that energy into studying the stars. "There's a little bit of magic to it in my eyes," he says.

Gabe is studying physics and astronomy at Minnesota State University Moorhead, and was able to jump into research in his first semester on campus. Three semesters later, nearing the end of his sophomore year, his research has led to him being named a 2025 Goldwater Scholarship nominee.

The Goldwater Scholarship is one of the most prestigious undergraduate awards given in the sciences. Congress established the scholarship in 1986 in honor of former U.S. senator and 1964 presidential candidate Barry Goldwater. 

Sophomore Taytum Nelson has also been nominated for the Goldwater Scholarship. Taytum is majoring in physics, math, and computer science, and spent her summer researching the Ionosphere.

Early Research

Gabe's freshman research project was focused on testing the accuracy of built-in barometers on the device that's always with us: our smartphones. Barometers measure air pressure, which is used to more accurately calculate the GPS location of the phone.

Gabe and the team hooked a smartphone up to an apparatus that allowed the phone to determine the air pressure inside of different sizes of bubbles, using the phone's barometer to measure it. This research proved that the barometers in smartphones are reliable, and provides backing for a new, accessible, and low-cost lab experience for teachers to use in their classrooms.

"We found that the barometers in smartphones have developed to the point where you can actually use them as a scientific apparatus," Gabe says.

This research is slated to be published in April in the Physics Teacher.

Current Research 

Near the end of his freshman year, Gabe started his study of eclipsing binary star systems.

Binary star systems are two stars that orbit around one another. While this phenomenon is seen by the naked eye as one star, astronomers have been able to look closer at stars that seem to vary in brightness, identifying some that are simply two or more stars orbiting each other.

The brightness changes in our perspective due to the stars eclipsing—moving between us and the other star, as our moon occasionally moves in front of the sun to create a solar eclipse.

Eclipsing binary stars | Cosmos at Your Doorstep

The first step of researching these phenomena is to predict when the eclipses will happen. This fall, Gabe was able to develop a computer program that successfully predicted dates and times that eclipses should occur.

"The program was able to predict a list of times that, given the location of the observatory and the position of the sky, a variable star eclipse would happen," he says.

Gabe presented this program at the American Association of Variable Star Observers (AAVSO) annual meeting in November 2024.

Now that we can consistently predict when eclipses will occur, phase two of the research begins. This is done at the Paul P. Feder Observatory, located at MSU Moorhead's Regional Science Center, which is just fifteen miles from campus.

The opportunity to conduct research in the observatory was a major factor as to why Gabe attended MSUM, along with the recommendation of his mom, who is an alum. 

"There's only so much you can learn from books, so I decided I needed to take the plunge and dive into astronomy," he says.

Gabe's research has helped him retain what he learns through applying it. "Research gives me a greater appreciation for what I learn in the classroom-I know where I'm going to use this information," he says.

This research experience has also taught him to rely on others. "I'm pretty independent, but relying on my peers and asking questions is something I've had to get used to," Gabe says.

While he's only in his sophomore year, Gabe is set on what he wants to do upon graduation: pursue a Ph.D. and conduct research in astronomy or astrophysics. For now, he is diving into research, and eagerly awaiting the results of his Goldwater Nomination.

Goldwater Scholarship awardees will be announced March 28th.

References used

Emma. "Eclipsing Binary Stars." Cosmos at Your Doorstep, 26 Feb. 2025, cosmosatyourdoorstep.com/2018/06/11/eclipsing-binary-stars/. 

Smith, Gillian. "Why Does My Phone Have a Barometer?" NextNav, 4 Jan. 2021, nextnav.com/why-phones-have-barometers/.