The MIT School of Science is pleased to announce the arrival of Jess Speedie, one of the eight recipients of the 2025 51 Pegasi b Fellowship. This announcement was made on March 27 by the Heising-Simons Foundation.
The 51 Pegasi b Fellowship, named after the initial exoplanet found orbiting a sun-like star, was instituted in 2017 to grant postdoctoral researchers the chance to undertake theoretical, observational, and experimental studies in the field of planetary astronomy.
Speedie, who anticipates finalizing her PhD in astronomy at the University of Victoria in Canada this summer, will join the Department of Earth, Atmospheric, and Planetary Sciences (EAPS) as a fellow. Under the guidance of Kerr-McGee Career Development Professor Richard Teague, she will leverage a combination of observational information and simulations to investigate the formation of planets and the dynamics involved in planetary creation.
“The planetary environment is where all the exciting elements accumulate … it holds the highest potential for the most fascinating events in the universe to unfold, including the emergence of life,” she states. “For me, planets are where the narratives take shape.”
Speedie’s research has centered on unraveling the mysteries of “cosmic nurseries” and identifying and describing the youngest planets within the galaxy. Much of her research has utilized the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA), situated in northern Chile. Consisting of 66 parabolic antennas, ALMA investigates the universe using radio wavelengths, and Speedie has pioneered an innovative technique to detect signals in the data of gravitational instabilities in protoplanetary disks, a pathway for planetary development.
“One of the significant questions currently posed within the planet formation community is simply, where are the planets? It’s as straightforward as that. We believe they are forming in these disks, yet our detections of them are extremely limited,” she explains.
During her fellowship, Speedie aims to create an algorithm that meticulously aligns and compiles a decade’s worth of ALMA observational data to mitigate a blurring effect that occurs when merging images obtained at different intervals. This process should yield the clearest and most sensitive images of nascent planetary systems to date.
Additionally, she is keen to explore baby planets, particularly those potentially forming in disks surrounding protoplanets, instead of stars. Analyzing how these constituent materials in orbit behave could provide astronomers with a method to estimate the mass of young planets.
“What’s thrilling is the potential for new discoveries. I get the impression that the universe as a complete entity is infinitely more inventive than human imagination — the kinds of phenomena that occur out there are beyond fabrication. It outshines science fiction,” she remarks.
The other 51 Pegasi b Fellows this year, along with their affiliated institutions, include Nick Choksi (Caltech), Yan Liang (Yale University), Sagnick Mukherjee (Arizona State University), Matthew Nixon (Arizona State University), Julia Santos (Harvard University), Nour Skaf (University of Hawaii), and Jerry Xuan (University of California at Los Angeles).
The fellowship offers up to $450,000 in funding over a three-year period for independent research, an ample salary alongside a discretionary fund, mentorship at the host institutions, an annual summit to cultivate professional connections and encourage collaboration, as well as the option to apply for additional funding for a future post in the United States.