Congratulations to UA Physics professor Eduardo Rozo for winning a Cottrell SEED Award

Dr. Eduardo Rozo is one of ten winners of the 2025 Cottrell SEED (Singular Exceptional Endeavors of Discovery) Awards. This competitive award is given in two categories: New Research Directions (for innovative research projects with potential to lead to a transformative line of inquiry) and Exceptional Opportunities (to advance existing research projects at primarily undergraduate institutions to higher levels of innovation and impact.) Dr. Rozo was awarded for the former category, New Directions in Research.

Dr. Rozo's work, "Measuring H₀ Using the Infall Profile of Galaxy Clusters,"  is a method used to estimate the Hubble constant (H₀).

The Hubble constant quantifies the rate at which the universe is expanding. It tells us how fast galaxies are moving away from each other. Measuring H₀ is crucial for understanding the age, size, and fate of the universe. Galaxy clusters are massive and exert a strong gravitational pull, causing nearby galaxies to fall toward these clusters; this motion is called infall. The infall profile describes how the velocity of galaxies changes with distance from the cluster center.

By observing the velocities and distances of galaxies falling into clusters, scientists can model the dynamics of the system. By fitting the observed infall profile to theoretical predictions, they can estimate the Hubble constant. This method is independent of other techniques like cosmic microwave background measurements or supernova observations, making it a valuable cross-check.

You can read more about the Cottrell SEED Awards here.