About me

Hi everyone! My name is Taweewat Somboonpanyakul. Currently, I am a Kavli Postdoctoral Fellow atthe Kavli Institute for Particle Astrophysics and Cosmology at Stanford University. I worked closely with Prof. Steve Allen on studying the properties of galaxy clusters.

My thesis project with Prof. Michael McDonald at MIT is to look for new galaxy clusters which host extreme point source, such as active galactic nuclei (AGN), in the center of the cluster and study their properties to see how it has an effect on the cluster as a whole. I am working with both Optical (through Magellan/PANSTARRS/SDSS) and X-ray (with Chandra). As an observer, I have been to the Magellen telescope, located at the Las Campanas Observatory in Chile multiple times. These trips are definitely one of the highlights for me in choosing to study astronomy and astrophysics for my PhD.

I was born and raised in Bangkok, Thailand. After graduating from both Mahidol Wittayanusorn School (MWITS) in Thailand and Asheville School in Ashville, NC for high school, I moved to the University of Chicago where I majored in physics as an undergrduate student.

As an undergraduate student, I wrote my senior thesis with Prof. Hsiao-wen Chen about the circumgalactic medium (ICM) in group environment using background quasars. From this project, I had some experience working with spectra in both optical (for composition of circumgalactic medium surrounding nearby galaxies) and UV (for absorption line from background QSOs) range.

Apart from doing work in astrophysics, I also enjoy traveling and being outdoor. One benefit of living in Massachusetts is that there are many hiking trails and beaches nearby. White Mountain National Forest in New Hamshire has some of the best views in this area, especially during the leaf peeping season. My other interest is in board games. I love playing, learning, and teaching board games. I really like the time we share together while playing board game without any distraction from all the connected devices which are all around us.