Colette Salyk, Associate Professor of Astronomy on the Maria Mitchell Chair and Chair of Physics and Astronomy, was awarded grant support by the Space Telescope Science Institute (STScI) as a co-investigator on the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) General Observer program for a “Population Study of Chemistry in the First Million Years of Planet Formation: A MIRI Survey of Embedded Disks in Ophiuchus.” This collaborative project with Dr. Ke Zhang and other colleagues at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, using NASA’s JWST—an orbiting infrared observatory—targets the youngest planet-forming disks still embedded in their natal envelopes to understand chemistry in the first million years of planet formation.

Professor Salyk is the creator of the open-source “Spectools_ir” modeling codes, which are designed to analyze infrared spectra, including those from JWST. She will provide instruction in using these tools and assist in modeling the datasets with so-called slab models, which provide the basic physical parameters of observed molecules. As an expert in the analysis of infrared spectra and its interpretation in the context of planet formation chemistry, Colette will also participate in the publication of analysis papers based on this project's observations.

Meanwhile, Colette contributed to MODfest 2026 at Vassar, which featured the award-winning opera Computing Venus by composer Timothy Takach and librettist Caitlin Vincent. Computing Venus offered MODfest audiences a dramatic glimpse into the life of astronomer Maria Mitchell (1818–1889), the groundbreaking historical figure and one of Vassar's first faculty members. Colette gave an informative pre-performance talk with conductor Christine Howlett, Professor of Music and Director of Choral Activities on the George Sherman Dickinson Chair.