Goni Halevi

Goni Halevi is a computational astrophysicist, specializing in numerical simulations of explosive events from massive stars, mergers of compact remnants, and the synthesis of the heaviest elements in the Universe. She uses state-of-the-art numerical tools to model the complex interplay between fluid dynamics, general relativity, nuclear physics, and magnetic fields in phenomena like collapsing stellar cores and accretion disks around black holes. Before joining Illinois Tech, Goni spent one year as a CIERA Postdoctoral Fellow at Northwestern, where she maintains an appointment as a Visiting Scholar. She simultaneously held a Vera Rubin Visiting Postdoc appointment at UC Santa Cruz. During her PhD, she was an NSF Graduate Research Fellow and a visiting student at the Institute for Advanced Study in Princeton.

While in graduate school, Goni was also a Math and Science Fellow with the Prison Teaching Initiative. She taught accredited college-level algebra, physics, and astronomy courses to students incarcerated in New Jersey state prisons. She is committed to accessible and inclusive physics pedagogy.

At Illinois Tech, she is one of two faculty teaching the astrophysics undergraduate curriculum courses (along with Prof. Leiner) and teaches introductory-level physics. She is enthusiastic about working with undergraduate students interested in getting involved in astrophysics research.

Education

Ph.D., Princeton University, Astrophysical Sciences
M.A., Princeton University, Astrophysical Sciences
B.A., UC Berkeley, Physics and Astronomy

Research Interests

• Computation fluid dynamics
• High energy astrophysics
• Core-collapse supernovae
• Compact object mergers
• r-process nucleosynthesis
• Black holes
• Accretion disks and jets
• Relativistic astrophysics