A woman with long blonde hair and glasses smiles in front of rows of black computer servers with blue accents and yellow cable trays overhead.
A woman with long blonde hair and glasses smiles in front of rows of black computer servers with blue accents and yellow cable trays overhead.

Research Staff

Helena Richie, Ph.D.

Flatiron Research Fellow, Center for Computational Astrophysics

Bio

Helena joined the Center for Computational Astrophysics (CCA) as a Flatiron Research Fellow in 2026. Her work focuses on understanding the survival and evolution of dust and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) in the circumgalactic medium. In particular, Helena uses GPU-based hydrodynamics simulations to study dust evolution in multi-phase galactic outflows driven by stellar feedback. She is also interested in modeling dust and PAH emission to better understand observations of dusty outflows. Prior to joining the CCA, Helena earned her Ph.D. in physics from the University of Pittsburgh.

Related People

Portrait photo of Blakesley Burkhart

Blakesley Burkart

Research Scientist, Center for Computational Astrophysics

A man with short hair smiles at the camera. He is wearing a blue and white plaid shirt, and the background is softly blurred, keeping the focus on his face.

Shy Genel

Research Scientist, Center for Computational Astrophysics

A headshot of a smiling man in a light green shirt.

Mike Grudić

Associate Research Scientist, Center for Computational Astrophysics

A person with glasses and a goatee, wearing a navy cap and backpack, stands outdoors with blurred mountains and sky in the background.

Shivan Khullar

Flatiron Research Fellow, Center for Computational Astrophysics

A man with brown hair and a beard smiles while standing in front of a white brick wall with some chipped paint, illuminated by warm sunlight.

Lachlan Lancaster

Flatiron Research Fellow, Center for Computational Astrophysics

A person with short black hair wearing a black collared shirt, facing forward and looking at the camera with a neutral expression against a plain white background.

Kunyang Li

Flatiron Research Fellow, Center for Computational Astrophysics

A person with curly hair and a light shirt stands smiling in front of a chalkboard filled with mathematical equations and geometric diagrams.

Francisco Maion

Flatiron Research Fellow, Center for Computational Astrophysics

A man with short dark hair and a beard, wearing a gray Nike hoodie, smiles at the camera with a bright, cloudy sky in the background.

Shyam H. Menon

Flatiron Research Fellow, Center for Computational Astrophysics

A woman with straight, shoulder-length dark hair and light skin wears a white collared blouse, looking at the camera with a neutral expression against a plain white background.

Yurina Nakazato

Flatiron Research Fellow, Center for Computational Astrophysics

A smiling person wearing glasses and a red shirt stands outdoors in a sunny park with green trees and grass in the background.

Piyush Sharda

Flatiron Research Fellow, Center for Computational Astrophysics

Center for Computational Astrophysics

We develop cutting-edge tools and software packages to explore the inner workings of the universe.

Learn more
A textured sphere with three horizontal stripes: yellow on top, dark blue in the middle, and dark orange at the bottom.