Originaria de Ecuador, Silvana C. Delgado Andrade es una investigadora, próxima a graduarse (Mayo.2025) de PhD en Astronomía en la Universidad Texas A&M (TAMU), con una maestría en astronomía y una licenciatura en física y astronomía, que ha forjado una destacada trayectoria en el campo de las ciencias y la investigación; nieta del destacado ingeniero manabita César Delgado Otero, reconocido por su invaluable contribución al desarrollo del puerto de Manta y su notable trayectoria como figura distinguida en la sociedad mantense.

Los estudios e intereses de investigación de Silvana incluyen la formación y evolución de galaxias, coevolución de galaxias con sus agujeros negros supermasivos, estudios de materia negra, estudiando la dinámica de las estrellas dentro de galaxias mediante analysis de espectroscopía óptica e infrarroja . Su expertise en modelado avanzado y herramientas computacionales le ha permitido realizar contribuciones significativas a la comunidad científica, siendo autora principal y colaboradora en publicaciones científicas relacionadas con la masa de agujeros negros supermasivos y modelos dinámicos de galaxias.

Además, ha participado activamente en la enseñanza y la tutoría en diferentes niveles educativos, y más allá de su excelencia académica, Silvana es una apasionada defensora de la diversidad e inclusión en la ciencia. Como presidenta del capítulo SACNAS de TAMU (2023-2024), ha liderado iniciativas para fomentar la participación de grupos subrepresentados en la astronomía.

Entre sus reconocimientos destacan becas de la NASA y la American Astronomical Society, así como premios por su liderazgo y contribuciones científicas. Ha realizado múltiples presentaciones en diversos escenarios académicos y científicos, además de contribuir activamente a la comunicación científica a través de charlas y actividades de divulgación. Su experiencia técnica abarca habilidades en Python, modelado avanzado y el manejo de herramientas computacionales para la investigación en astrofísica.

Recientemente, participó en la Convención #245 de la American Astronomical Society (AAS), evento considerado el Super Bowl de la Astronomía, realizado del 12 al 16 de enero de 2025 en National Harbor, Maryland. Durante este evento, Silvana dictó una conferencia donde presentó una investigación innovadora sobre la vinculación entre agujeros negros supermasivos, estrellas y materia oscura en galaxias masivas de rápida rotación, tema de gran interés en la comunidad científica, destacándose por su aporte en el estudio de la dinámica estelar y su capacidad para abordar problemas complejos y ofrecer nuevas perspectivas sobre el funcionamiento del universo.

Con una trayectoria académica sólida, reconocimientos internacionales y una pasión inquebrantable por la ciencia, Silvana C. Delgado Andrade se posiciona como una de las astrónomas ecuatorianas más prometedoras de su generación. Sus investigaciones están abriendo nuevas fronteras en nuestro entendimiento del cosmos y sirviendo de inspiración para las futuras generaciones de científicos.

A continuación su curriculum vitae:

Silvana C. Delgado Andrade

Department of Physics & Astronomy
Email: Esta dirección de correo electrónico está siendo protegida contra los robots de spam. Necesita tener JavaScript habilitado para poder verlo.
Texas A&M University
ORCiD: 0000-0003-3940-0899
College Station, TX 77843-4242
Website: https://silvanadelgado.com/

Research Interests

• Galaxy Evolution
• Stellar Dynamical Modeling
• Host Galaxy and Supermassive Black Hole Co-Evolution
• Early-Type Galaxies
• Optical and Infrared Integral-Field Spectroscopy
• Dark Matter

Education

• Ph.D. in Astronomy (expected May 2025)
  Advisor: Jonelle Walsh, Texas A&M University (TAMU)
• M.S. in Astronomy (August 2022)
  Advisor: Jonelle Walsh, Texas A&M University
• B.S. in Physics and Astronomy (May 2019)
  Advisor: Min Yun, University of Massachusetts at Amherst (UMass)

Appointments

• Graduate Research Assistant (under Dr. J. Walsh) TAMU, Fall 2019 – present
• Graduate Teaching Assistant TAMU, Fall 2019 – Spring 2022
• Undergraduate Research Assistant (under Dr. M. Yun) UMass, Fall 2017 – Spring 2019
• Undergraduate Teaching Assistant UMass, Fall 2017 – Spring 2019
• NSF-Funded REU Research Assistant (under Dr. L. Strigari) TAMU, Summer 2018
• Five College Astronomy Department Intern (under Dr. M. Yun) UMass, Summer 2017

Publications

Lead Author

• The MASSIVE Survey. XX. Axisymmetric Jeans Models of Fast-Rotating Massive Early-Type Galaxies (in preparation)

  • S. C. Delgado Andrade, J. L. Walsh, J. D. Pilawa, C. Ma, E. M. Liepold, J. E. Greene, and J. P.
    Blakeslee

• The MASSIVE Survey. XVII. A Triaxial Orbit-based Determination of the Black Hole Mass and Intrinsic Shape of Elliptical Galaxy NGC 2693 (2022, ApJ, 928, 178, DOI: 10.3847/1538-4357/ac58fd)

  • J. D. Pilawa, E. M. Liepold, S. C. Delgado Andrade, J. L. Walsh, C. Ma, M. E. Quenneville, J. E.
    Greene, and J. P. Blakeslee

Co-Author

• Ground-based Reconnaissance Observations of 21 Exoplanet Atmospheres with the Exoplanet Transmission Spectroscopy Imager (Submitted to AAS Journal)
  • R. J. Oelkers, L. M. Schmidt, : : : including S. C. Delgado Andrade
• Gas-dynamical Mass Measurements of the Supermassive Black Holes in the Early-type Galaxies NGC4786 and NGC5193 from ALMA and HST Observations (2024, ApJ, 966, 132, DOI: 10.3847/1538-4357/ac7a38)
  • K. M. Kabasares, J. H. Cohn, A. J. Barth, : : : including S. C. Delgado Andrade

Funding, Honors, & Awards

• NASA Texas Space Grant Consortium Graduate Fellow 2022, 2024, 2025
• American Astronomical Society FAMOUS Grant 2024
• College of Arts & Sciences Doctoral Student Travel Award 2024
  Texas A&M University
• SACNAS Travel Award 2022, 2024
  • Chapter Officer Leadership October Retreat ('24)
  • National Diversity in STEM Conference ('22)
• Department of Physics & Astronomy Travel Award 2024
  Texas A&M University
• Texas A&M Good Bull Fund 2023
  PI, grant to support the Diversity in Science Symposium
• Dept. of Physics & Astronomy Climate & Diversity Grant 2023
  Co-I, grant to support the Society for the Underrepresented in P&A
• GMT Community Science Meeting Travel Grant 2022
  Giant Magellan Telescope, Black Holes at All Scales
• College of Natural Sciences Student Leadership Award 2018 { 2019
  University of Massachusetts, Amherst
• National Science Foundation REU Research Grant 2018
  Texas A&M University, Research Experience for Undergraduates
• Nova Biomedical Scholarship 2015 – 2019

Conferences & Presentations

• 245th AAS Meeting (National Harbor, MD) January 2025
  Talk: Linking SMBHs, Stars, and Dark Matter in MASSIVE Galaxies
• 243th AAS Meeting (New Orleans, LA) January 2024
  Talk: Jeans Models of Fast-Rotating MASSIVE Early-Type Galaxies
• 8th Annual GMT Community Science Meeting (Sedona, AZ) August 2022
  Poster: Comparing Stellar Dynamical Modeling Techniques for MASSIVE Galaxies
• Texas A&M Astronomy Symposium (College Station, TX)
  Talk: Jeans Models of Fast-Rotating ETGs in the MASSIVE Survey, August 2022
  Talk: Stellar Dynamical Models of MASSIVE Galaxies, August 2021
  Talk: The SMBH in the MASSIVE Galaxy NGC2693, August 2020
  Talk: SMGs: Multi-Component Systems & Counterparts, August 2019
• Master's Defense & Prelim Talk (College Station, TX) April 2022
  Talk: Stellar Dynamical Models & SMBHs of MASSIVE Galaxies
• FCAD Senior Presentations (Amherst, MA) May 2019
  Talk: SMGs: Multi-Component Systems & Counterparts
• Massachusetts Undergraduate Research Symposium (Amherst, MA) April 2019
  Poster: SMGs: Multi-Component Systems & Counterparts
• Conference for Undergraduate Women in Physics (Amherst, MA) January 2019
  Poster: Selection of Milky Way Analogs in the Dark Energy Survey
• 233rd AAS Meeting (Seattle, WA) January 2019
  Poster: Selection of Milky Way Analogs in the Dark Energy Survey
• Texas A&M REU Poster Presentation (College Station, TX) August 2018
  Poster: Selection of Milky Way Analogs in the Dark Energy Survey
• FCAD Senior Presentations (Amherst, MA) April 2018
  Poster: Variability in Young Stellar Objects through H- Emission

Observing Experience

• McDonald Observatory (13 nights)
  2.7 m Telescope, George Cynthia Mitchell Spectrograph (Mitchell/VIRUS-P) February 2023
  2.1 m Telescope, Exoplanet Spectroscopic Imager (ETSI) June 2022
• W. M. Keck Observatory (2 nights)
  Keck II 10 m Telescope, Keck Cosmic Web Imager (KCWI) November 2019
• Kitt Peak National Observatory (4 nights)
  0.9 m Telescope, Half-Degree Imager, January 2018

Teaching Experience

• Research Project Leader
  Warrior Scholar Project, STEM Academic Boot Camp
  Texas A&M University, Summer 2020, 2021, 2022
  Columbia University (remote) Summer 2020
• Teaching Assistant and Laboratory Instructor, Fall 2019, 2021; Spring 2022
  ASTR 111: Overview of Modern Astronomy
  Department of Physics & Astronomy, Texas A&M University
• Teaching Assistant, Spring, Fall 2020
  ASTR 320: Astrophysical Research Methods
  Department of Physics & Astronomy, Texas A&M University
• Laboratory Assistant, Fall 2017 - Spring 2019
  ASTR 101: Introduction to Astronomy
  Department of Astronomy, University of Massachusetts, Amherst
• Astronomy Tutor, Fall 2017 - Spring 2019
  Department of Astronomy, University of Massachusetts, Amherst

Skills

• Data & modeling: nested sampling (dynesty), forward modeling, high-performance computing clusters
• Techniques: mgefit and galfit, dynesty, pPXF, JAM
• Fluent in: python, LATEX, linux, vim
• Experience with: Matlab, git, html, R, Bash, casa, iraf, pyraf, virtual machines

Outreach & Service

Appointments

• Public Relations Chair: SACNAS Texas A&M Chapter, 2024 - present
  Advancing Chicanos/Hispanics & Native Americans in STEM (SACNAS)
  Texas A&M University
• Head Coordinator Diversity in Science Symposium, April 2024
  Advancing Chicanos/Hispanics & Native Americans in STEM
  Texas A&M University
• President: SACNAS Texas A&M Chapter, 2023 - 2024
  Advancing Chicanos/Hispanics & Native Americans in STEM
  Texas A&M University
• Public Relations Chair, 2022 - 2023
  LatinX Graduate Student Association
  Texas A&M University
• Head Coordinator, 2021 - 2023
  Astronomy on Tap (AoT) Bryan/College Station
• Coordinator, 2020 - 2023
  Society for the Underrepresented in Physics & Astronomy
  Texas A&M University
• Coordinator, Fall 2022
  Gateway to Graduate School
  Texas A&M University

Mentoring

• Guest Mentor (2 undergraduate students) 2023
  Vanguard STEM Unbound Mentoring program
• Primary Mentor (3 first-year graduate students) 2020 - 2022
  Mentoring and Advising Graduates in an Inclusive Community
  Texas A&M University
• Research Mentor (2 undergraduate students) Summer 2020
  AggieStar Program: Fiber Optic Characterization for Unprecedented Sky Subtraction
  Texas A&M University

Science Communication

• Astronomy on Tap BCS (Bryan, TX)
  Talk: Cosmic Feasts: A Tale of Galactic Cannibals, September 2024
  Talk: The Gravity of Our Universe, August 2022
  Talk: An Astrology Talk, November 2021
  Talk: Gravity (Remote), May 2020
• SACNAS Meeting (Texas A&M) October 2023
  Talk: Graduate School 101
• Gateway to Graduate School (Texas A&M) October 2022
  Talk: Graduate School 101
• SUPA (Texas A&M)
  Talk: Femininity in Academia (Part 2) July 2022
  Talk: Femininity in Academia November 2021
  Talk: Mental Health During the Pandemic (Remote) January 2021
• Skype a Scientist (Virtual, Minshew Elementary School) January 2022
  Talk: Skype a Scientist: Astronomy (3 classrooms)
• Warrior Scholar Project (Texas A&M) 2020, 2021, 2022
  Talk: Numerical Simulations in Astrophysics
• Astronomy on Tap BCS (Virtual) January 2021
  Talk: Fantastic Galaxies & Where to Find Them
• Texas A&M Society for Physics Students (Virtual) November 2020
  Talk: Implicit Bias in Science
• Warrior Scholar Project (Virtual, Columbia University) July 2020
  Talk: Numerical Simulations in Astrophysics

Volunteering

• Coordinator: SACNAS Coffee with Professors, October 2024
  with Dr. Steven Villanueva
  NASA Goddard Postdoctoral Fellow
• Coordinator: SACNAS & LGSA Observing Night, September 2024
• Volunteer: Texas A&M Physics Festival, April 2021, 2022, 2024
• Coordinator: SACNAS Coee with Professors, September 2024
  with Dr. Jolene Ramsey
  Assistant Professor Biology Department, Texas A&M
• Coordinator: SACNAS Coffee with Professors, October 2024
  with Dr. Joaquin Rodriguez-Nieva
  Department of Physics & Astronomy, Texas A&M
• MC/Speaker: Astronomy on Tap BCS, 2020 - 2023
• Volunteer: Texas Science Olympiad, April 2022
• Speaker: Skype A Scientist, January 2022
• Volunteer: Conference for Undergraduate Women in Science, January 2020
• Panelist: Conference for Undergraduate Women in Science, January 2020
• Volunteer: Texas A&M Star Parties Summer 2018