Olivia Harper Wilkins

Astrochemistry

Caltech

I am an astrochemist and doctoral candidate at Caltech. In addition to exploring the invisible Universe with radio telescopes, I am passionate about effective teaching and science communication. When I’m not working on research or teaching, you can find me at a coffee shop, a National Park with my family, or creating art.

Jansky with his antenna, which was more than 100 feet long and 20 feet tall and rotated on four Ford Model-T wheels

NRAO/AUI/NSF

How a scientist in a potato field founded the field of radio astronomy

Karl Guthe Jansky, hired to quiet hiss on long-distance phone calls, found radio waves coming from Sagittarius

Olivia Harper Wilkins
mosaic of the Taurus Molecular cloud from ESA's Herschel observatory

 ESA/Herschel/NASA/JPL-Caltech; R. Hurt (JPL-Caltech) (CC BY-SA 3.0 IGO)

Scientists re-discover a long carbon chain molecule hiding in space

Cyanodecapentayne has been detected in the Taurus Molecular Cloud for the first time in over 20 years

Olivia Harper Wilkins
false color image of saturn's moon, rhea. moon is pale green and blue

 NASA/JPL/SSI 

A NASA spacecraft flew by a Saturnian moon, uncovering a chemical mystery

Where did the hydrazine detected on Rhea come from?

Olivia Harper Wilkins