We’re proud of our former group members and all they have accomplished both at UCLA and beyond. Here, see a quick snapshot of a few of our former colleagues, where they are now and how their time with the GCG impacted their lives and careers.
Sylvana Yelda
“The GCG not only provided the technical foundation I use everyday as a data scientist in the tech industry — it played a central role in shaping my identity as a scientist.“
My time in the Galactic Center Group was one of the most formative and enjoyable periods of my life. It provided the technical foundation I now use everyday as a data scientist in the tech industry and played a central role in shaping my identity as a scientist. I continue to rely on the habits that my advisor, Andrea Ghez, helped me develop — asking better questions, challenging my first assumptions, and thinking more clearly about the data, to name a few. These lessons helped me develop a critical and analytical mindset that guides my work and decision-making to this day.
Equally important was the Group’s collaborative environment, which made the work genuinely fun. Some of my favorite memories are of our middle-of-the-night discussions while observing at the Keck telescopes. Traveling to conferences around the world also exposed me to a wide range of people, ideas, and scientific perspectives, broadening my thinking beyond my own work. These experiences left a lasting impact on me both personally and professionally, influencing how I navigate challenges, collaborate with others, and mentor people on my own team.
Leo Meyer
“Andrea and the GCG taught me about the the principles of patience and putting in the work — two things needed for great science to succeed.”
My roughly five years as a member of the Galactic Center Group have shaped me profoundly in so many positive ways. One thing that especially reverberates with me in my current job as a CFO at DHL Group is: no cutting corners! Science is hard – especially at the bleeding edge where the GC Group has always been. There is no easy way. When we were putting together the paper reporting the discovery of a star orbiting the Galaxy’s central Black Hole in just 12 years, Andrea made sure that we got it right. How important that was! It can be tempting to rush a spectacular looking result out – only for it to be falsified quickly. That’s not how great science works. Be patient and put in the necessary work – the rewards will come. Andrea embodies that principle and I adhere to this since my days in the GCG as well.
Jessica Lu
“It’s clear that what makes the GCG a unique place to work with is not just the science, but the fantastic and dedicated people.”
I have been a long-time member of the Galactic Center Group, starting as a graduate student in 2003. My collaboration with the GCG continues to this day as I find it a vibrant and dynamic group focused on all of the interesting astrophysics that occurs at the heart of our Milky Way Galaxy. As a professor at UC Berkeley, I can now introduce some of my own students and postdocs to the GCG; and they benefit from close access to scientific and technical experts. It is clear that what makes the GCG great to work with is not just the outstanding science, but also the fantastic people.
Louis Levenson
“Professor Ghez herself sets the standard for hard work and excellence, but also cultivates an environment in which every person is treated as a vital part of the team.“
As an undergraduate in the Galactic Center Group 20 years ago, just getting my feet wet in the practice of real science, I could never have imagined I would find myself in BigLaw, nor that the skills I was developing would apply there. But, in reality, much of the work involved in the Galactic Center Group actually does apply in many other fields. From directly applicable skills, like computer programming and data analysis, to more abstract skills, like thinking about problems (from electromagnetism, to Einstein‘s relativity, to instrumentation) in a fundamental way, I have used the skills I developed in the Galactic Center Group in both my science career that followed my time in the Galactic Center Group (getting a PhD at UCLA and doing a postdoctoral fellowship at Caltech), as well as in my day-to-day life in patent law.
For example, although I don’t program computers or analyze data anymore, every day I talk to engineers at the world’s biggest companies who do those things, and I am able to talk with them comfortably about those aspects of the inventions they are developing. Because I have been trained to think about problems in a fundamental way, I am also able to quickly understand aspects of their inventive technologies that I am not already familiar with.
In addition to all of this, one of the biggest things I saw working in the Galactic Center Group is what effective leadership looks like.
Professor Ghez herself sets the standard for hard work and excellence, but also cultivates an environment in which every person, from professors to undergrads and technical staff, is treated as a vital part of the team. Out in the business world, I see many different leadership styles, and it is clear to me that the environment of excellence and respect in the Galactic Center Group is why the group has reached the pinnacles of success in astronomy and astrophysics, as well as why Dr. Ghez’s students go onto success, no matter where they end up.