About Me

My name is Briley Lewis, and I'm a NSF fellow and 6th year graduate student (now, PhD candidate!) at the University of California, Los Angeles studying Astronomy & Astrophysics, soon to be graduating in August 2024. I will soon be starting as an NSF Astronomy & Astrophysics Postdoctoral Fellow at UCSB in Fall 2024! I grew up in Southern California, and am the first in my family to go for a PhD. ​

I graduated from Columbia University with my B.A. in Astrophysics (Class of 2018), earned my M.S. in Astronomy & Astrophysics at UCLA in 2020, and am now working on my Ph.D. I have previously worked at the American Museum of Natural History in NYC, and also at Space Telescope Science Institute in Baltimore, MD.

My research interests include high-contrast imaging for exoplanets and planet-forming disks, infrared observations & polarimetry, and solar system science — particularly the icy bits! See my research page for more about these projects, or my full CV.

Outside of research, I am passionate about teaching, accessibility, and science communication. I have been a teaching assistant for multiple classes at UCLA, and completed my Graduate Certificate in Writing Pedagogy while teaching as instructor of record for the interdisciplinary UCLA Freshman Cluster program and Collegium of University Teaching Fellows. I'm also a member of the Astrobites collaboration, and have written for Scientific American, Popular Science, Space.com, and more as a freelancer.

I spend much of my free time with my sweet senior rescue dog, Rocky. You can also find me on Twitter @briles_34!