Olivia Cooper

Olivia Cooper (she/her) is an NSF Astronomy and Astrophysics Postdoctoral Fellow studying cosmic assembly from the lens of massive galaxy evolution. In her work, she uses multi-wavelength observations from JWST, ALMA, and other world-class telescopes to trace and characterize the fuel, product, and byproducts of star formation: molecular gas, stars, and dust, respectively. The goal of her current research is to answer when, where, and how efficient star formation is occurring, to demonstrate how the early cosmos assembled its baryons so rapidly, seeding the Universe we live in today.

Alongside her research in galaxy evolution, Cooper is a science communicator and educator, a climate steward, and an advocate for equity and justice in astronomy. She focuses on promoting climate change literacy, empowerment, and action, and in particular is working to develop and implement climate change education within astronomy and physics undergraduate courses. She is also co-founder of choir, a collaboration with equal emphasis on studying galaxy evolution and bettering astronomy culture.

Cooper received her PhD in Astronomy from UT Austin in 2025, and graduated from Smith College in 2020 with degrees in Physics and Astronomy and a concentration in Climate Change.