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A woman with long brown hair wearing a black t-shirt and jeans stands smiling in front of a white wall, with an office space visible to the left.

Research Staff

Amy Secunda, Ph.D.

Flatiron Research Fellow, Center for Computational Astrophysics

Bio

Amy Secunda received her Ph.D. in astrophysical sciences from Princeton University in 2024, where she bridged the gap between observations and simulations of active galactic nuclei (AGN) accretion disks using multi-frequency radiation magnetohydrodynamic simulations and multi-wavelength UV and optical time-domain surveys of AGN. In addition to her work on AGN disks, Amy has performed research in a broad range of astrophysics subfields from reionization to planet formation. She joined the Center for Computational Astrophysics in September 2024 as a Flatiron Research Fellow.

Publications

Do Little Red Dots Vary?

The Astrophysical Journal, arXiv:2509.03571, January 2026

A. Secunda, Rachel S. Somerville, Y. Jiang, Jenny E. Greene, Lukas J. Furtak, and Adi Zitrin

Continuum Reverberation in Active Galactic Nuclei Disks Only with Sufficient X-Ray Luminosity and Low Albedo

The Astrophysical Journal, arxiv:2501.06304, May 2025

A. Secunda, Y. Jiang, and Jenny E. Greene

Simulating X-Ray Reverberation in the Ultraviolet-emitting Regions of Active Galactic Nuclei Accretion Disks with Three-dimensional Multifrequency Radiation Magnetohydrodynamic Simulations

The Astrophysical Journal Letters, arxiv:2311.10820, April 2024

A. Secunda, Y. Jiang, and Jenny E. Greene

Featuring Amy Secunda

A digital illustration of two merging black holes in space, emitting spiraling waves of blue and purple energy, surrounded by stars and cosmic dust.

Delving Into the Mathematical Absurdities of Black Holes

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New Cohort of Triangle Program Awardees Will Explore Symmetry Through Art

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New Open Interval Cohort Will Explore Symmetry Through Art and Science

Events

A Universe of Grief

In Conversation

November 20, 2026

6–8 p.m. ET

Speakers

Amy Secunda, Ain Gordon, Neha Shastry, John Tracey

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