December 12, 2025
Ava Polzin, a fourth-year PhD student in Astronomy and Astrophysics, focuses on the physical and chemical mechanisms that regulate star formation in the smallest galaxies. This sort of research provides an avenue to better understand how generations of stars like our sun formed in galaxies like the Milky Way. Born in Portland, OR, and raised in Libertyville, IL, Ava began her PhD at Yale before transferring to UChicago to be closer to immunocompromised family during the Omicron wave of the COVID-19 pandemic. We interviewed her about her experiences here.
Why did you choose the University of Chicago?
I did my undergraduate at Northwestern, and the conventional wisdom there (and I’m sure many other institutions) is that if you get into UChicago (for astrophysics at least), you go. I unfortunately didn’t get in right out of undergraduate and started my PhD at Yale instead. When I applied to transfer graduate programs because of the pandemic, I only applied to the University of Chicago and was fortunate enough get in that time! In my experience, there are few departments that are quite as active and engaged as UChicago Astronomy & Astrophysics.
What made you interested in your current field of study?
Astronomy has been an innate interest for me for as long as I can remember, and I was fortunate to have opportunities to foster that interest even when my focus was divided (I started college as a music major but always intended to study astrophysics, too). I’ve benefited from having very diverse research experiences, and going into graduate school, I chose to focus on galaxy evolution because it requires broad knowledge of everything from the physics governing how individual stars form and evolve to how the universe behaves on the largest scales. I really enjoy working at the interface of different subfields of astrophysics and using both empirical measurements and physical theory to learn more about the processes that shape galaxies.
What has been your most memorable class and why?
I really enjoyed auditing one of my advisors’ (Andrey Kravtsov’s) computational methods course, which really reinforced the importance of some best practices that I’d long held off adopting. It was also an interesting exercise for me pedagogically, as Andrey is a very dedicated teacher and has really worked to develop course policies that are consistent with his established learning objectives. I’m a Senior Graduate Fellow of the Chicago Center for Teaching and Learning and was able to invite Andrey to present a very well-attended (at-capacity, in fact!) workshop on effective instruction in the physical sciences.
What skills have you gained here that might be or have already proven valuable outside of school?
Working on a PhD is great because it’s effectively on-the-job training, so my day-to-day in research or teaching with the Chicago Center for Teaching and Learning is not all that different from what my future might look like as an academic, though I (thankfully!) do have substantially less administrative burden than more senior scientists. For people considering graduate school, it’s good to realize that it follows an apprenticeship model, where you’re paid to develop into an independent scientist.
What is your favorite restaurant or food truck in Hyde Park? What is your favorite dish?
Medici is always a standby for me when I’m getting a quick meal with friends near campus as their food is consistent and works for many different dietary requirements. I always get a gluten-free steak sandwich with fries. I also really like the shawarma tacos from Cedars.
What is your favorite campus spot and why?
While I can most frequently be found in my office in the Eckhardt Research Center, I really love Botany Pond and was very excited when it opened back up. I’m still waiting for the turtles to return but watching the ducklings grow up last spring was a great consolation in the interim. [Ed. note: The turtles have since returned to Botany Pond.]
What’s something you love to do outside of the classroom or lab?
Outside of research and teaching, I’m very passionate about making science accessible. I’ve been fully supported in these efforts at UChicago. Most recently, I was able to organize and run—with a fantastic organizing committee—Picture an Astronomer, a series of events aimed at increasing representation for, and retention of, women in astrophysics, funded by the University of Chicago Women’s Board and supported by the Kavli Institute for Cosmological Physics. Picture an Astronomer was inspired, in part, by Astronomy as a Field: A Guide for Aspiring Astrophysicists, a book I created that features contributions from a number of University of Chicago scientists.
What support or mentorship have you received at UChicago that was particularly valuable to you?
I have been extremely fortunate to have two wonderful advisors, Profs. Andrey Kravtsov and Hsiao-Wen Chen, with whom I work on computational and observational astrophysics, respectively. In addition to being incredible scientists, they’re both immensely supportive mentors and have given me tremendous opportunities to develop scientifically and professionally. With respect to the half-joking adage that students turn into their PhD advisor(s), I should be so lucky.
What are your plans post-UChicago?
I’m currently on the academic job market, so while the specifics are not yet definite, I plan to stay in astrophysics. I’ve always wanted to be a scientist/professor, and I can’t imagine better preparation than the rigorous scientific work I’ve been able to undertake at the University of Chicago.
What advice or insights do you have for new or prospective Maroons?
You get out of things what you put into them, and the University of Chicago (and certainly the Department of Astronomy & Astrophysics) really honors hard work. Outside of research, there are so many opportunities to engage with the University’s intellectual community—e.g., working with the Chicago Center for Teaching and Learning, teaching as instructor of record in the University of Chicago Summer Session, attending any number of terrific lectures and public events—and taking advantage of those opportunities significantly enriches the academic experience.