Trevor Weiss
Education
BS: Physics, California State University, Long Beach, 2026
Research
My research focuses on asteroseismology, the study of stellar oscillations, to infer stellar properties. In particular, I use asteroseismic age measurements to characterize stellar populations in the Milky Way and reconstruct the Galaxy's formation history through galactic archaeology.
I am currently modeling and simulating asteroseismic detections for the upcoming NASA Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope. As a member of the Roman Asteroseismology Wide Field Science Team, I contributed to the mission design for Roman's Galactic Bulge Time-Domain Survey and have given several presentations about Roman's asteroseismology capabilities.
I’ve also spent some time at Carnegie Observatory applying measured asteroseismic age to constrain galactic chemical evolution models of halo substructures. I’ve previously worked on the relationship between HI and H₂ gas content, star formation quenching, and galaxy morphology, particularly the role of central stellar surface mass density (Σ₁) in nearby galaxies.
Publications
Evangela E. Shread, Trevor J. Weiss, Jerome J. Fang, and Cameron Law, Tracing Quenching in Nearby Galaxies Through Inner Surface Mass Density and Cold Gas Content, ApJ 997, 2026, DOI: 10.3847/1538-4357/ae2ffd
Trevor J. Weiss, Noah J. Downing, Marc H. Pinsonneault, Joel C. Zinn, Dennis Stello, Timothy R. Bedding, Kaili Cao, Marc Hon, Claudia Reyes, B. Scott Gaudi, Robert F. Wilson, Daniel Huber, and Sanjib Sharma, Modeling Asteroseismic Yields for the Roman Galactic Bulge Time-Domain Survey, ApJ 987, 2025, DOI: 10.3847/1538-4357/adde5b
Outreach
Beyond research, I am passionate about science education and public outreach. I believe astronomy should be accessible to everyone, and I enjoy sharing my work and knowledge with students and the broader community through outreach events and public talks.
In community college, I served as Project Coordinator for the Orange Coast College (OCC) Planetarium, where I organized K-12 field trips, supported daily operations, and helped coordinate major outreach events, including the April 2024 total solar eclipse, OCC Science Night, and a Girl Scout STEM event. I also mentored community college students conducting astronomy research for the Giles T. Brown Symposium and volunteered as a mentor for NASA's Community College Aerospace Scholars program.
At CSULB, I worked with the campus’s mobile planetarium to bring astronomy presentations to schools throughout Los Angeles and Orange County. I also designed an interactive exhibit for CSULB’s Science Learning Center Museum that uses sound waves to teach K-12 students how astronomers study stellar interiors through asteroseismology.
Media
Long Beach Current, Science Open House Event Sparks Community in STEM, October 2025, https://lbcurrent.com/artslife/2025/10/05/science-open-house-event-sparks-community-in-stem/
Space Telescope Science Institute, NASA’s Roman Could Bring New Waves of Information on Galaxy’s Stars, November 2025, https://www.stsci.edu/contents/news-releases/2025/news-2025-204?Mission=Roman&itemsPerPage=15&page=1
NASA, NASA’s Roman Could Bring New Waves of Information on Galaxy’s Stars, November 2025, https://www.nasa.gov/missions/roman-space-telescope/nasas-roman-could-bring-new-waves-of-information-on-galaxys-stars/
Space, NASA’s Next-Gen Roman Space Telescope is Surprising Scientists with its Capabilities. It Hasn’t Even Launched Yet, November 2025, https://www.space.com/space-exploration/missions/nasas-next-gen-roman-space-telescope-is-surprising-scientists-with-its-capabilities-it-hasnt-even-launched-yet
The Daily Galaxy, NASA’s Roman Telescope Will Provide the Largest Ever Asteroseismic Dataset—A Game Changer for Astronomy, November 2025, https://dailygalaxy.com/2025/11/nasa-roman-telescope-exceed-expectations/