Carnegie Mellon University

Hy Trac

Associate Professor

Astrophysics & Cosmology
Wean Hall 8307
412-268-8351

email

Prof. Hy Trac

Education & Professional Experience

Ph.D.: University of Toronto (Canada), Astronomy & Astrophysics (2004)
B.Sc.: University of British Columbia (Canada), Physics and Astronomy (1999)

 

Curriculum Vitae

Associate Professor with tenure, Carnegie Mellon University, 07/2018 -
Associate Professor without tenure, Carnegie Mellon University, 07/2016 - 06/2018
Assistant Professor, Carnegie Mellon University, 07/2010 - 06/2016
Post-doctoral Research, Harvard University, 08/2007 - 06/2010
Post-doctoral Research, Princeton University, 10/2004 - 07/2007

Research Interests

I work on computational and theoretical cosmology and astrophysics. My research involves the development and application of numerical simulations to model and interpret the observable University. In cosmology, I work on complex problems involving the gas, stars, galaxies, quasars, and clusters of galaxies that provide information about the underlying dark matter and dark energy. In astrophysics, I am interested in the dynamics of stellar systems and the mergers of compact objects that produce gravitational waves. I also collaborate with computer scientists and statisticians to apply modern AI/ML approaches to improve multi-wavelength data analysis and numerical simulations. I am a member of the Atacama Cosmology Telescope (ACT) and Simons Observatory (SO) Collaborations.

Recent Publications

2025 Buchalter Cosmology First Prize: Christopher Cain et al, Kiloparsec-scale turbulence driven by reionization may grow intergalactic magnetic fieldsPhysical Review D (2026)

Alan Hsu et al, Reconstructing Galaxy Cluster Mass Maps using Score-based Generative ModelingOpen Journal of Astrophysics (2025)

Dipto Mukherjee et al, Examining the Effects of Dark Matter Spikes on Eccentric Intermediate-mass Ratio Inspirals using N-body SimulationsMonthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society (2024)

Dipto Mukherjee et al, Close encounters of the interstellar kind: exploring the capture of interstellar objects in near-Earth orbitMonthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society (2023)

Matthew Ho et al, The dynamical mass of the Coma cluster from deep learningNature Astronomy (2022)

Nianyi Chen et al, Patchy Kinetic Sunyaev-Zel'dovich Effect with Controlled Reionization History and MorphologyAstrophysical Journal (2022)

Hy Trac et al, AMBER: A Semi-numerical Abundance Matching Box for the Epoch of Reionization, Astrophysical Journal (2022)

Yizhou He et al, A Hydro-particle-mesh Code for Efficient and Rapid Simulations of the Intracluster Medium, Astrophysical Journal (2022)

Matthew Ho et al, Approximate Bayesian Uncertainties on Deep Learning Dynamical Mass Estimates of Galaxy ClustersAstrophysical Journal (2021)

Hy Trac et al, SCORCH I: The Galaxy-Halo Connection in the First Billion Years, Astrophysical Journal (2015)

More Publications:
ORCID  NASA ADS