Kunyang (Lily) Li, Ph.D.

Kunyang (Lily) Li joined the Center for Computational Astrophysics (CCA) as a Flatiron Research Fellow in 2026. Her work focuses on modeling the evolution and realistic coalescence processes of massive black holes (MBHs) “on-the-fly” in cosmological simulations and on developing optimal strategies for detecting GW counterparts through EM searches.

She developed RAMCOAL code: a sub-grid model of MBH evolution that incorporates orbital decay, preferential accretion, and active galactic nuclei (AGN) feedback. The model captures the dynamics and GW emission from MBHBs below the resolution limit of cosmological simulations. While at the foundation, Kunyang will focus on implementing the sub-grid MBH dynamical evolution model and the multi-channel MBH seeding model within cosmological simulations to further advance the understanding of MBH seeding and growth, as well as their roles in galaxy formation over cosmic time.

Prior to joining CCA, Kunyang was a postdoctoral research associate at Institut d’ Astrophysique de Paris (IAP) in France for three years. She got her Ph.D. in 2022 at Georgia Institute of Technology, with studies of the electromagnetic and gravitational Wave signatures of MBHBs in merger galaxies using semi-analytical models.