Rate My Professor Marcel Agüeros

Marcel Agüeros is a Professor of Astronomy in the Department of Astronomy at Columbia University. He received his B.A. in Astronomy magna cum laude from Columbia College, Columbia University in 1996, M.Phil. in Physics from Emmanuel College, University of Cambridge in 1998, M.S. in Astronomy from the University of Washington in 2002, and Ph.D. in Astronomy from the University of Washington in 2006. Agüeros held a National Science Foundation Astronomy and Astrophysics Postdoctoral Fellowship in the Columbia Astrophysics Laboratory from 2006 to 2010, joined the Columbia faculty as Assistant Professor of Astronomy in 2010, was promoted to Associate Professor in 2017 with tenure in 2019, and advanced to Professor of Astronomy in 2024. During 2022-2023, he served as a Fulbright U.S. Scholar hosted by the Laboratoire d’Astrophysique de Bordeaux in France. He has taught undergraduate and graduate courses including Introduction to Astrophysics I, Stars and Atoms, Modern Stellar Astrophysics, and research seminars.

Agüeros specializes in observational stellar astrophysics, focusing on low-mass stars, time-domain astronomy, and the late stages of stellar evolution, particularly white dwarfs. His research combines analysis of large datasets with multiwavelength ground- and space-based observations to study the rotation-activity-magnetic field relation in stars and to calibrate gyrochronology using open clusters. Notable publications include 'The Factory and the Beehive I. Rotation Periods for Low-Mass Stars in Praesepe' (2011), 'The Factory and the Beehive V. Chromospheric and Coronal Activity and Its Dependence on Rotation in Praesepe and the Hyades' (2024), 'Massive White Dwarfs in the 100 pc Sample: Magnetism, Rotation, Pulsations, and the Merger Fraction' (2024), and 'The 100 pc White Dwarf Sample in the SDSS Footprint II. A New Look at the Spectral Evolution of White Dwarfs' (2024). He has received the NSF CAREER Award (2013), Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers (PECASE, 2016), Lenfest Distinguished Faculty Award (2016), Columbia University Presidential Award for Outstanding Teaching by Faculty (2019), Columbia University Faculty Service Award (2021), American Astronomical Society Fellowship (2023), and Research Corporation Robert Holland Jr. Award for Research Excellence and Contributions to Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (2024). Agüeros is President-elect of the American Astronomical Society, founding director of Columbia's Bridge to the Ph.D. Program in STEM, and has served on NASA panels, AAS Board of Trustees, and numerous advisory committees.