Astrophysics

CU grad Erin Macdonald makes it so

Rachel Sauer — Tue, 15 Apr 2025 22:18:50 +0000

CU grad Erin Macdonald makes it so Rachel Sauer Tue, 04/15/2025 - 16:18

Bradley Worrell

The 2009 math and astrophysics double major has successfully transformed herself from a scientist to an educator to a storyteller sailing with the enterprise known as Star Trek

As she worked toward completing her bachelor’s degrees in astrophysics and mathematics at the University of Colorado Boulder in the late 2000s, Erin Macdonald often enjoyed watching Star Trek: The Next Generation with her college friends. Today, she is a science advisor for the entire Star Trek franchise.

“I don’t think I could have ever conceived it, that being able to work in television and movies was a real thing that people could actually do,” Macdonald says in retrospect. “And if you told me that I would see my name in TV credits—not to mention in the Star Trek font with the Star Trek theme playing—it’s almost unbelievable.”

It’s been a remarkable journey from academia to Hollywood, Macdonald acknowledges. Still, she is quick to add that in a multiverse of possibilities, the outcome was never assured, and it did not happen at warp speed.

CU Boulder alumnus Erin Macdonald, who double majored in mathematics and astrophysics, is a science advisor for the Star Trek franchise and author of Star Trek: My First Book of Space. (Photo: Bradley Worrell)

Raised in Fort Collins, Colorado, Macdonald did not grow up watching Star Trek. However, she was deeply motivated to study science after being inspired by the protagonist astronomer Ellie Arroway in the movie Contact, as well as by fictional FBI agent and medical doctor Dana Scully in the popular TV show The X-Files.

“I watched The X-Files growing up, and Dana Scully for me was just the coolest woman who ever existed. That really sparked an excitement to be a scientist,” she says. “And then when Contact came out, watching Dr. Ellie Arroway use a telescope to find aliens, and seeing her legitimately work as an astronomer was the first time I ever saw that as a career.”

Still, there were some obstacles to overcome, Macdonald says, including the fact that math did not come naturally to her.

“In high school, I had friends who were taking classes that seemed to get it. And for me, I felt like I was trudging through mud trying to understand things—but knowing that I had to get through the math,” she says. Finally, when taking a Calculus 3 course at CU Boulder, she says she experienced a breakthrough when she came to understand how math worked with physics, and then “everything just clicked.” It prompted her to immediately declare a double major in mathematics and astrophysics.

Gaining another role model

It also was in college that Macdonald was first exposed to Star Trek through a tightknit group of fellow students who were big fans of the TV shows.

“In the Venn diagram of physics majors and Star Trek fans, there is a big intersection,” she says with a laugh. “I was in my early 20s and (fictional) Voyager Captain Catherine Janeway became my new Scully. She was someone who had gone from being a science officer to a captain. At that point, I knew I wanted to get my PhD, but I didn’t necessarily want to be a researcher as a career. So, Janeway was a role model, how she was a leader and a problem-solver and a mentor. It was something I aspired to.”

After graduating from CU Boulder in May 2009, Macdonald enrolled at the University of Glasgow in Scotland, where she earned her PhD in astrophysics in 2012. Normally, a master’s degree would be the next educational step after obtaining an undergraduate degree, but Macdonald credits the quality of the education she received at CU Boulder—and particularly the research opportunity and mentorship of astrophysics and planetary sciences Professor Jeremy Darling—with allowing her to immediately advance to working toward a doctorate.

After obtaining her PhD, Macdonald spent two years doing post-doctoral research at Cardiff University in Wales, United Kingdom. She later moved back to Colorado, where she worked as an adjunct professor in the community college system and as an educator at the Denver Museum of Nature & Science for about a year, then transitioned to work as an aerospace engineer for a contractor based in the Denver area.

“In the Venn diagram of physics majors and Star Trek fans, there is a big intersection,” says CU Boulder alumnus Erin Macdonald. (Photo: Bradley Worrell)

It was during her time working for the contractor, and while attending pop culture conventions for fun, that Macdonald hit upon the idea that she could combine her deep knowledge of astrophysics with her love of science fiction to give talks on the science of science fiction TV shows, movies and videogames at fan conventions.

“After a while in the private sector, I found I really missed teaching. I was already going to conventions, so I proposed giving talks,” she says, adding that event organizers were receptive to the idea. “For topics, a popular one is physics and Star Trek. I’d say, ‘I did my PhD in gravitational physics, so let me explain how (theoretically) warp drives work, because I actually know the science of how warp drives work.’”

To boldly go …

In 2017, Macdonald moved to the Los Angeles area, where she continued to work in the aerospace industry while also giving science/science fiction talks at fan conventions, or as she describes herself in that time: “rocket scientist by day, warp engineering expert by evening.” It was during that period that she began meeting actors and writers at fan events, which ultimately led to industry connections with executives at CBS, the producer of all things Star Trek.

Macdonald was initially hired to give talks at CBS-sponsored events, including Star Trek Cruises. That led to an introduction with the co-executive producer of Star Trek Discovery, who asked Macdonald to serve as a science advisor for the show as season 3 began production.

“I believe I did a good job on that season, so I think the executives saw value in hiring a science advisor to be available to all of their shows to maintain consistency across the franchise, to understand all of the made-up technologies that we have in Star Trek and to be able to communicate that to the writers as well,” she says. “That’s been going on since 2019, so almost five years now.”

Meanwhile, Macdonald has written four screenplays, and she has done voice acting for Star Trek Prodigy, an animated Star Trek show, during which she had the opportunity to work with Kate Mulgrew, the actress who played Captain Janeway on Star Trek Voyager.

“When I started working on Star Trek Prodigy, they were bringing Captain Janeway back as a teacher for young kids. I was going to help write some of her lines, and that was when I had this huge epiphany of—I’m not meant to become Captain Janeway; I’m meant to write Captain Janeway and create characters that inspire kids to become scientists.”

“When I started working on Star Trek Prodigy, they were bringing Captain Janeway back as a teacher for young kids. I was going to help write some of her lines, and that was when I had this huge epiphany of—I’m not meant to become Captain Janeway; I’m meant to write Captain Janeway and create characters that inspire kids to become scientists,” she says. “And so now, I find that storytelling lets me sort of inspire and motivate the next generation of STEM professionals, and that’s what I want to do as a career.”

Macdonald has found her voice as a storyteller in several different ways. In 2022, she published Star Trek: My First Book of Space, an illustrate children’s board book that uses Star Trek to talk about science, technology, engineering, arts and math (STEAM), and she wrote and narrated the Audible Original “The Science of Sci-Fi” in collaboration with The Great Courses.

Additionally, in 2021, McDonald created Spacetime Productions, a film development and production company devoted to giving representation to traditionally marginalized voices, including those in the LGBTQIA+ community. The company has produced two short films including Identiteaze, released on the streaming service Nebula earlier this summer.

Reflecting on her journey from scientist to educator to storyteller, Macdonald says her success is the result of recognizing good opportunities, trusting her instincts, perseverance and, most importantly, putting in the time and work to achieve her goals.

“You know, I didn’t quit my PhD and move to LA with no plan. I took those important steps in between,” she says. “And it took me until well into my 30s for me to realize what I wanted, to be a storyteller and create those Dana Scullys and Captain Janeways, as opposed to becoming one of those characters. And that’s OK. All of those steps along the way helped inform the work I do now.”

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The 2009 math and astrophysics double major has successfully transformed herself from a scientist to an educator to a storyteller sailing with the enterprise known as 'Star Trek.'

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CU Boulder, Fort Lewis College support Native American astrophysics students

Anonymous — Fri, 14 Jul 2023 02:01:59 +0000

CU Boulder, Fort Lewis College support Native American astrophysics students Anonymous (not verified) Thu, 07/13/2023 - 20:01

Doug McPherson

Julie Comerford, associate professor of astrophysics, initiated the NSF-funded research program opening pathways to students often underrepresented in physical sciences

A new program at the University of Colorado Boulder is helping Native American undergraduate students delve into astrophysics and more fully participate in scientific research that frequently happens on Indigenous lands.

The National Science Foundation-supported program is a partnership between CU Boulder and Fort Lewis College in Durango, Colorado. Julie Comerford, associate professor of astrophysical and planetary sciences, who is leading the program, notes that Fort Lewis College does not have an astrophysics program, so students interested in the field lack opportunities.

“The intent is to open pathways to astrophysics for Native American students,” Comerford says.

Julie Comerford, associate professor of astrophysical and planetary sciences, initiated a summer research partnership between CU Boulder and Fort Lewis College to open pathways to astrophysics for Native American undergraduate students.

The American Institute of Physics reports that for every 1,000 Native American students who earn a bachelor’s degree, only four do so in physics or geosciences.

“In individual terms, an average of two Native American students earn a bachelor’s degree in astronomy each year, and fewer than one earns a Ph.D. in astronomy each year,” Comerford says. “These low numbers are especially stark for a field that builds many of its ground-based telescopes on land that’s sacred to Indigenous peoples. So even though our program is small–only three students per year–the potential impact could be massive in terms of opening pathways to astrophysics.”

Individualized research

Each student in the program is participating in a different research project with their advisor, who are CU Boulder or National Solar Observatory faculty members. The students’ projects include analyzing images from the Daniel K. Inouye Solar Telescope in Hawaii and using image data from Mars rovers and orbiters to study high-altitude noctilucent clouds—research inspired by the student’s experience during childhood of seeing a sunlit cloud in the sky at night. Program participants also are exploring qualities of planets beyond our solar system.

In addition, the students are taking part in professional development workshops hosted by the Boulder Solar Alliance Research Experience for Undergraduates, part of the CU Boulder Laboratory for Atmospheric and Space Physics. The workshops include how to give a brief description of their research projects, how to write scientific abstracts, how to make a research poster and how to apply to graduate school. The students also get mentoring from CU Boulder graduate students.

Astrophysics program interns and mentors—including (left to right around the table) intern Yoshi Levey, mentor and CU graduate student Charles (Charlie) Marrder, mentor and CU graduate student Anna Zuckerman and mentor and CU graduate student Marcel Corchado-Albelo—attend a professional development workshop at the Laboratory for Atmospheric and Space Physics/National Solar Observatory in Boulder.

The idea for the program came to Comerford when she saw an NSF solicitation for its Partnerships in Astronomy & Astrophysics Research and Education (PAARE) program, which works to improve astronomy and astrophysics research and education.

“I thought it sounded really interesting and worthwhile,” Comerford says.

Statewide partnership

As Comerford was thinking about what institution to partner with, her department chair, Nils Halverson, mentioned the CU Boulder-Fort Lewis partnership the CU@FLC Postdoctoral Teaching Fellowship Program, started by former Associate Dean for Research Theresa D. Hernández and James White, former acting dean for the CU Boulder College of Arts and Sciences.

“I reached out to Theresa to learn more and came out of that conversation thinking that Fort Lewis College would be an amazing partner.” Comerford says. “I owe a lot to Nils and Theresa for encouraging me and helping me get my PAARE proposal off the ground. I wrote the proposal in January 2022, so it's been 18 months to get from the proposal to this first cohort of students.”

Hernandez says Comerford's partnership with Fort Lewis College creates an amazing opportunity to engage undergraduates in astrophysics and to increase the recruitment, retention and successes of groups often underrepresented in that field.

“This program also rounds out CU’s and Fort Lewis College’s Post-Doctoral Teaching Fellowship Program,” Hernandez says. “Together, these create a strong foundation for regular interaction between both campuses and for students through their undergraduate, graduate and post-doctoral studies. We’re thrilled that the first group of students have started, and by Dr. Comerford’s strong commitment to this important work in her field.”

In summer 2025, alumni from the astrophysics program will gather at Chimney Rock National Monument in southwest Colorado for the lunar standstill, during which the full moon rises between two rock formations as viewed from an ancestral Puebloan ceremonial site.

Andy Cowell, faculty director of the Center for Native American and Indigenous Studies (CNAIS) at CU Boulder, says CNAIS is excited to support Comerford’s project. “We’ve been working recently to expand our cooperative work with natural sciences departments. We want to help promote not just Native and Indigenous Studies as an academic discipline, but also Native communities in all academic areas across the campus, and this project is a good example of how that can be done.”

Comerford says she has funds to run the program for three summers. After the third summer, she plans to gather all program alumni at Chimney Rock National Monument in southwest Colorado for the 2025 lunar standstill, during which the full moon rises between two rock formations as viewed from an ancestral Puebloan ceremonial site.

“I want to use these first three years to establish the program, and then grow it into a longstanding, established program with institutional support from CU Boulder,” Comerford says, adding that she thinks of the NSF funding as a seed grant. “The goal is for this to become an embedded program that continues decades from now.”

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Julie Comerford, associate professor of astrophysics, initiated the NSF-funded research program opening pathways to students often underrepresented in physical sciences.