When Melissa Rasmussen discusses her research, she focuses on fundamental questions about the origins of elements in the universe. “One of the big applications for what I do is the question of where all the elements in the universe come from,” she said. “We know that heavier elements, like iron, form from supernovae, or stars blowing up. But the details of how, and in what amounts, depend on the physics we put into our models. That’s what we’re trying to figure out.”
Rasmussen is a third-year doctoral student in physics at Stony Brook University and works at the intersection of nuclear astrophysics and computational science. Her work involves running complex simulations and analyzing large code bases to better understand how elements are formed during stellar explosions.
Her academic journey began at Utah State University before she joined Stony Brook University after participating in a remote Research Experience for Undergraduates program with Professor Michael Zingale. Rasmussen found both mentorship and institutional resources that supported her interests in computational science at Stony Brook. She highlighted opportunities to take interdisciplinary classes and collaborate with researchers from various fields.
Professor Zingale noted Rasmussen’s broader impact: “Melissa is collaborating on a suite of codes that our entire group uses,” he said. “Her contributions will benefit all of the projects in the group, just as contributions from others benefit hers. An important part of our codes is that they are all open source, freely available online.”
The focus of Rasmussen’s dissertation is modeling massive star explosions using advanced computational techniques such as adaptive mesh refinement—a method also applied in areas like weather forecasting and epidemiology to study phenomena including COVID-19 spread patterns. She explained: “It’s amazing that the same mathematical principles can be applied to storms on Earth, to pandemics, and to stars exploding across the galaxy,” adding that this versatility makes computational science highly collaborative.
Rasmussen is working toward more accurate three-dimensional models for stellar explosions since two-dimensional simulations often misrepresent turbulent behavior seen in reality. She hopes these efforts will contribute lasting scientific insights: “Ultimately, I’d love to see a complete 3D model of a massive star’s death, from collapse to explosion to dispersal into space. That would be a real scientific legacy.”
Zingale emphasized how skills developed through computational astrophysics transfer across disciplines: “Melissa’s core interests are in computational science…these same core techniques carry to other fields as well…It opens doors far beyond any one discipline.”
Despite acknowledging limited immediate practical applications for her current research—“Honestly, we study this because it’s really cool”—Rasmussen pointed out historical links between astrophysics advances and progress in technology sectors such as supercomputing.
She holds a Department of Energy Computational Science Graduate Fellowship supporting four years of doctoral study related to high-performance computing. This fellowship has enabled collaborations with scientists nationwide and provided flexibility for professional development.
Beyond her research contributions, Rasmussen has worked with faculty and peers at Stony Brook University to address gaps in student preparation for graduate studies: “Instead of letting that discourage us, we worked with faculty to create a solution,” she said.
Reflecting on her future ambitions, Rasmussen hopes eventually to apply her expertise toward challenges like renewable energy but remains committed for now to exploring cosmic phenomena through simulation while building community among fellow students.
“We don’t always know what discoveries will matter most,” she said. “But the act of pursuing them, of asking questions and building tools to answer them, always moves us forward.”
