Aaron Barrios

Aaron Barrios is a 2nd generation Latino from Long Island, NY, dedicated to excellence in and out of school. Continuously testing the limits of what is possible, he is graduating with a Physics/Astronomy/Mathematics triple major and a minor in Computer Science. He has combined this vast background with his astrophysical passion while conducting computational research with Professor Dexter in JILA—on “sources of anisotropic emissions from supermassive black holes.” A review paper and honors thesis are already complete, and he is currently working on publishing his work in a peer-reviewed journal.

He attributes all his success to the values instilled by his loving family and endeavors to pay it forward to those around him. Consequently, he has held leadership roles in the COSMOS and Undergraduate Research Expo groups, working to provide informational and community-building events to the Physics department and beyond. He is also a longtime volunteer at PISEC, where he does exploratory science learning with middle/high schoolers around Boulder. The LI native will now be pursuing a PhD in Physics at the University of Washington in St. Louis with an MCSS fellowship. In the future, he hopes to become a professor at an R1 institution, teaching the next generation of students and making great strides in the field of black hole accretion.

Aaron was mentored by Dr. Jason Dexter, in the Department of Astrophysical & Planetary Sciences at CU Boulder