Natasha Latouf

I am on the job market! Please reach out if you are interested in one or both of my research expertise fields!

My name is Natasha Latouf, she/her, and I am an NSF Graduate Research Fellow and PhD Candidate at George Mason University and NASA Goddard Space Flight Center. I work with Dr. Avi Mandell and Dr. Geronimo Villanueva to characterize and analyze biosignatures in exoplanet atmospheres and with Dr. Paula Danquah-Brobby to study effective and ethical mentorship practices in physics and astronomy.

My exoplanet science (the BARBIE project) specifically investigates the requirements of signal to noise ratio (SNR) and wavelength for strongly detecting biosignatures of interest using a coronagraphic bandpass observation approach. We do this using nested sampling and a pre-computed grid of spectra to drastically reduce computational time. We then perform Bayesian analysis on the results to study a wide wavelength of parameter space. Using Gridder, new grids are now able to be made for any science question of interest.

My mentorship research investigates the experiences of HMGs in physics and astronomy as well as how their experiences can be bettered through culturally responsible, advocacy-based mentorship. I also dedicate a specific subsection to the Arab and Arab American experience. I make recommendations on ideal mentorship program development, as well as emphasizing the most necessary components (mentorship training, check ins, etc.). Improving the recruitment and specifically retention of the field is crucial for us to produce the best science we can together.

• BARBIE
• Mentorship

I have experienced harassment, sexism, and racism in physics and astronomy. It was very difficult, but through my incredible support system and advisors, I’m still here. As a result, I’m always happy to help others in the field, whether that’s through research, mentorship, or any of the other resources I’ve collected in the student resources tab. Please feel free to reach out to me with any questions, comments, concerns, etc. - or even just to talk about a bad advising situation. A sympathetic ear holds more power than you think.

Scattered throughout this website are my thoughts, advice, and experiences about common application processes and just the grad school process in general! Please reach out if you find more resources that you want to see featured. The most important thing I can recommend is finding your community - as such, images all over the website will feature my lovely support system, to whom I am forever indebted. Find your people, find your support system, whether in the field or non - they will be essential to helping you through the processes ahead, as grueling and frustating as they may be. They will also be there to celebrate all your wins with you, through passing quals and defending your thesis.

Studies have shown that a large amount of trust is built through small talk and learning tidbits about people. Your personality is an important part of you, and it impacts the way you do science! As such, I will also be endeavoring to tell you about me as a person so we can start the process of trust early :)

Keep scrolling if you're interested! Or, click to the tab of interest if you're not - that's okay too ;)