Aaron Pearlman, a native of Baltimore, Maryland, earned both a B.S. in Physics and a B.S. in Mathematics from the University of Maryland, Baltimore County (UMBC). Aaron went on to pursue graduate studies at the California Institute of Technology (Caltech) under the mentorship of Professor Thomas Prince, where he was supported by both a National Science Foundation (NSF) Graduate Research Fellowship and a National Defense Science and Engineering Graduate (NDSEG) Fellowship. Aaron completed his graduate studies in 2021, earning both a M.S. and Ph.D. in Physics from Caltech. Aaron’s doctoral research focused on the development of novel algorithms and analysis techniques for studying compact objects and astrophysical transients. His research, particularly on fast radio bursts (FRBs)–an enigmatic class of extragalactic, short-duration radio transients–has been particularly important in shaping our current understanding of their origins and emission mechanisms.

Before coming to MIT, Aaron was a Prize Postdoctoral Fellow at McGill University and the Trottier Space Institute at McGill, where he held a Banting Fellowship, a McGill Space Institute (MSI) Fellowship, and a Fonds de Recherche du Québec – Nature et Technologies (FRQNT) Postdoctoral Fellowship. Aaron is a leader in the Canadian Hydrogen Intensity Mapping Experiment (CHIME)/FRB Outriggers project–a significant upgrade to the CHIME/FRB experiment that enables CHIME-detected FRBs to be precisely pinpointed on the sky using three new Outrigger telescopes and state-of-the-art very-long-baseline interferometry (VLBI) techniques–and he was a key member of the CHIME/FRB Collaboration. Aaron worked with Professor Victoria Kaspi and the CHIME/FRB team to advance our understanding of the FRB phenomenon by combining observations from the CHIME radio telescope with data from other observatories across the electromagnetic spectrum.

As a Hubble Fellow at MIT, Aaron will utilize the CHIME/FRB Outriggers VLBI array to significantly increase the number of precisely localized FRB sources. He will conduct transformative studies of the host galaxies and local environments of well-localized FRBs, which will shed new light on the astrophysical objects powering these enigmatic transients and the conditions leading to FRB production. Additionally, Aaron will leverage the CHIME/FRB Outriggers sample to help address major open questions in astrophysics and cosmology, such as the distribution of unseen baryonic matter across the Universe and the role of astrophysical feedback processes in shaping cosmic structure. Aaron’s research will pave the way for the next frontier in FRB science, enabling unprecedented studies that will allow FRBs to be used both as powerful cosmological probes and beacons for studying extreme astrophysical systems.