Please find my complete CV here, updated June 2025:

Below is a highly abbreviated CV, last updated June 2025.

PROF. CARA BATTERSBY

University of Connecticut, Dept. of Physics, 196A Auditorium Road, Unit 3046, Storrs, CT 06269-3046

Phone: (860) 486-3988, E-mail: cara.battersby@uconn.edu

RESEARCH INTERESTS

1) Star formation, gas dynamics, and the 3-D structure of our Galaxy’s Central Molecular Zone (CMZ), 2) Mass and energy cycles in the CMZ, 3) clustered star formation and its potential variation with environment, and 4) the future of Far-IR astrophysics.

PROFESSIONAL PREPARATION

• Associate Profesor University of Connecticut. August 2023-present.
• Assistant Professor University of Connecticut (on research leave AY16/17). August 2016 – August 2023
• Research Associate Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory.  September 2017 – present
• National Science Foundation (NSF) Postdoctoral Fellow at the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics. August 2016 – July 2017
• Submillimeter Array (SMA) Postdoctoral Fellow at the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics. Sept. 2013 – July 2016
• Ph.D. Astrophysics, University of Colorado, Boulder, CO, Adviser: John Bally. Thesis Title: “The Structure, Kinematics, and Evolution of Massive Star and Cluster Forming Regions.” 2013
• M.A. Astronomy, Boston University, Adviser: Jim Jackson. 2008
• B.S. Physics & Astronomy, University of Massachusetts Amherst, summa cum laude. 2006

PUBLICATIONS

Cara Battersby has an h-index of 45, is an author on 105 publications with a total citation count of 6,395 (computed June 2025 from the NASA Astrophysics Data Service Page). Complete publication list is available on NASA ADS here.

SELECTED AWARDS

Selected Awards:

• Probe Mission Selected for NASA Phase A Funding 2024 for Probe Concept “PRIMA (the Probe Infrared Mission for Astrophysics),” ($5M total, $49k to UConn)
• NSF Early CAREER Faculty Award, 2022
• NASA Group Achievement Award 2019
  for the “substantial and effective scientific, technical, and management work in developing the Large
  Mission Concept Studies for the 2020 Astrophysics Decadal Survey.”
• Robert H. Goddard Honor Award (https://science.gsfc.nasa.gov/sci/awardswon) 2019
  “For outstanding team performance resulting in the delivery of a scientifically compelling, executable,
  low-risk Origins Space Telescope mission concept.”

SELECTED GRANTS

Summary: Cara Battersby has been awarded about $3.0M in extramural funding to UConn as PI or co-PI on more than ten grants from NSF, NASA, NRAO, and the Templeton Foundation.

Five large NSF grants: 

• Co-PI: National Science Foundation Astronomy and Astrophysics Grant 2022
  “Collaborative Research: ACES Galactic Center Mass Flow” ($232k)
  Veterans Research Supplement (VRS) Program ($47k) 2024
• PI: NSF Early CAREER Faculty Award, 2022
  “CAREER: Shining STARs Amidst the Turbulence” ($697k)
• PI: National Science Foundation Astronomy and Astrophysics Grant, 2021
  “Uncovering the Seeds of Star Clusters across the Galaxy” ($389k)
• Co-PI: National Science Foundation Campus Cyberinfrastructure Grant 2019
  CC* Compute: Shared Computing Infrastructure for Large-scale Science Problems ($400k)
• PI: National Science Foundation Astronomy and Astrophysics Grant, 2018
  “3-D CMZ: Unveiling the Structure of our Galaxy’s Central Molecular Zone” ($390k)

Four NASA Grants:

• Co-I: JWST Observing Proposal 2024
  “Identifying, counting, and mapping YSOs in Sgr B2: our Galaxy’s most massive molecular cloud”
  ($91k)
• PI: NASA Astrophysics Data Analysis Program Grant, 2021
  “3-D MC: Mapping Circumnuclear Molecular Clouds from X-ray to Radio” ($466k)
• Co-PI NASA SOFIA Archival Research Program 2021
  “IGNITES: Investigating Galactic Nuclear Infrared Thermal Evolution of young Stars” ($166k)
• Co-I: NASA Balloon Mission: 2019
  ASTHROS: Astrophysics Stratospheric Telescope for High-spectral Resolution Observations at Submillimeterwavelengths
  ($18k to UConn)

Other Grants:

• UConn Internal Grants ($72k total): PI: UConn STARs Program Awarded under CLAS DEI
  Initiative $7250 in 2025, $5650 in 2024, $4k in 2022, Co-I: BRIDGE+ Program Awarded under
  the President’s Commitment to Community Grant 2021 $13k, Scholarship Facilitation Fund:
  2019 $1k, NFIP: 2017-2021 $5k total, Co-I: Provost’s Open Educational Resources Award 2017
  $10k, Co-I: Provost’s Large Course Redesign Award 2017 $26k.
• PI: National Radio Astronomy Observatory 2019
  Student Observing Support Grant ($34k)
• PI: Templeton Foundation Grant, “BiteScis: K12 Research Brief Engagement Pilot” ($215k) 2017

MEDIA

See Media page

INVITED SCIENTIFIC PRESENTATIONS

Summary: Cara Battersby has given 8 invited review/keynote talks, 61 invited conference presentations and colloquiua, and 18 invited public talks since 2013.

RESEARCH MENTORSHIP

Summary: Cara Battersby has advised 4 postdoctoral fellows and advised or co-advised 42 research students at UConn. The full details can be found on my complete CV below.

TEACHING

See Teaching page for more details

• Developed and Instructed a New, Large Interactive Physics Course for Non-Majors: PHYS 1040: Cosmic Origins of Life, University of Connecticut, Storrs, CT.
  • aught Spring 2025. SET median scores of 5.0 for instructor and course Spring 2025
  • Taught Spring 2024. SET median scores of 5.0 for instructor and course Spring 2024
• Prepped and Instructed a Large, Interactive Physics Course for Non-Majors: PHYS 1025Q: Introductory Astronomy, University of Connecticut, Storrs, CT.
  • Taught Spring 2022. SET scores of 5.0 for instructor and 4.5 for course.
  • Taught Spring 2020 with H Perry Hatchfield who took over when Prof. Battersby went on maternity leave. (Due to COVID-19 there were no Letters of Recognition for Teaching Excellence this semester).
  • Taught Spring 2019. SET scores of 5.0 for instructor and 5.0 for course.
• Developed and Instructed a New Interactive Physics Course for Majors: PHYS 2701: The Foundations of Modern Astrophysics, University of Connecticut, Storrs, CT.
  • Taught Fall 2017, Fall 2018, Fall 2019, and Fall 2021. SET scores of 5.0 for instructor and 5.0 for course each time taught.
• Developed and Instructed a New Graduate / Undergraduate Advanced Astrophysics course: PHYS 4720 / 6720: Galaxies and the Interstellar Medium, University of Connecticut, Storrs, CT.
  • Taught Fall 2024 SET median scores of 4.0 for instructor and course
  • Taught Spring 2023 SET median scores of 5.0 for instructor and course
  • Taught Spring 2021 online. SETD scores of 5.0 for instructor and 5.0 for course.

For service positions and accomplishments, see complete CV below.

SELECTED OUTREACH ACTIVITIES

See Outreach page for more details

• Founder and Co-Leader of the UConn STARs (Science, Technology, and Astronomy Recruits) Program: New program to recruit and retain students from historically-excluded groups in the physics major. Includes mentorship, support network, and outreach to K-12 schools in the community. (Spring 2022 – present)
• Co-Founder of the UConn Graduate BRIDGE+ program: A summer bridge program for incoming UConn STEM graduate students from traditionally underrepresented backgrounds. Funded through the President’s Commitment to Community Initiative (2021 – present).
• Co-Founder and Leader of BiteScis: A program that brings together science graduate students with K-12 teachers to develop lesson plans to bring modern science research into the K-12 classroom. Lesson plans are freely available online at bitescis.org. (2014-2020)
• Co-Founder and Leader of CU-STARs: Founded a new program at CU-Boulder to retain undergraduate students from traditionally underrepresented backgrounds in STEM during their first year. Organized public talk series, outreach events in underserved communities, and more. Estimated to have impacted 50 undergraduate and hundreds of high school students. The program is in its 9th year and is estimated to have impacted about 45 undergraduate and 100s of high school students (Leader: 2010-2013)