Aspiring Caribbean Scientists: Pursue Your Goals with Alexandra Amon

Alexandra Amon, a science communicator and physicist, encourages aspiring Caribbean scientists to pursue their goals. As an assistant professor at Princeton, she is proud to have started her journey on the tiny islands of Trinidad and Tobago.

A Sloan Research Fellow

Amon is one of 126 recipients of the esteemed Sloan Research Fellowships, a $75,000 fellowship given to early-career researchers who have made significant contributions to their field. She was chosen as one of 24 awardees in the physics category, along with awardees in mathematics, Earth System Science, Economics, and Neuroscience.

The Rubin Observatory’s Legacy Survey of Space and Time

Amon and her team are highlighting the groundbreaking Rubin Observatory’s Legacy Survey of Space and Time, which will depict over 1 billion galaxies. The observatory, situated on a mountain in Chile, is almost complete and will provide breathtaking views of the universe. For ten years, it will continuously scan the sky with the biggest camera ever constructed to produce an ultra-wide, ultra-high-definition time-lapse record of the cosmos.

“We use galaxies to map the large-scale structure and confront questions about the composition and evolution of our universe,” Amon said. “Our ultimate objective is to comprehend the characteristics of dark energy and dark matter.”

Amon’s Journey

Before joining Princeton, Amon worked for three years as a Kavli Fellow in Professor Wechsler’s lab at Stanford, where she focused on the analysis of the Dark Energy Survey Year 3 Cosmology.

Sloan Research Fellowships: A Prestigious Honor

The Sloan Research Fellowships are one of the most sought-after scholarships for young academics, and the 2025 fellows hailed from 51 universities in the US and Canada. Several have gone on to become highly regarded scientists in their domains.

FAQs

Q: What is the Sloan Research Fellowship?
A: The Sloan Research Fellowship is a $75,000 fellowship given to early-career researchers who have made significant contributions to their field.

Q: What is the Rubin Observatory’s Legacy Survey of Space and Time?
A: The Rubin Observatory’s Legacy Survey of Space and Time is an ongoing project that will depict over 1 billion galaxies and provide breathtaking views of the universe.

Q: What is the ultimate objective of Amon and her team?
A: The ultimate objective of Amon and her team is to comprehend the characteristics of dark energy and dark matter.