by Kasey Cunningham

DTM Staff Scientist Alycia Weinberger has been selected to serve on the Large Binocular Telescope Interferometer key science team (LBTI). She is amongst five other investigators who will analyze exozodiacal dust levels around a sample of stars.

According to Weinberger, her overarching scientific interests are in how circumstellar disks form the diverse planetary systems that are observed. LBTI will measure the structure of disks, some of which may host planetary systems, and reveal how the disks and planets evolve together. She is responsible for the sign

The Large Binocular Telescope Interferometer is an instrument on the Large Binocular Telescope located on Mount Graham in Stafford, Arizona. As one of the most advanced telescopes in the world, the LBTI team will use this direct imaging technology to discover Earth-like planets around stars.

Other members of the LBTI science team include Geoffrey Bryden, William Danchi, Bertrand Mennesson, Karl Stapelfeldt, and Mark Wyatt. The team is led by Principal Investigator Phil Hinz. Weinberger will be working on forming a coherent sample of targets for LBTI to observe.

“LBTI has great potential for finding solar-system like disks around nearby stars, and I'm excited to participate in what I hope will be ground-breaking observations,” said Weinberger.