Welcome to the personal website of Michael James Yantovski-Barth!
The dark side of the universe is a pathway to physics some consider to be…unnatural.
About Me
I am currently a PhD student in astrophysics at the Ciela Institute of the University of Montreal and Mila. Previously, I was an undergraduate student at the University of Pittsburgh, during which time I was fortunate to participate in an NSF REU at the National Radio Astronomy Observatory.
My research focuses on the dark side of the universe: supermassive black holes, gravitational lensing, dark matter, and other aspects of the cosmos which are governed by mysterious forces. I am primarily an observational astronomer: my preferred method of intergalactic travel is by radio interferometer (pictured above: ALMA). You can read more about my work under the Research tab.
I spend most of my working hours writing computer code. A list of the software projects I have been involved in can be found under the Software tab. In my spare time, I enjoy hiking, mountain biking, skiing, and playing musical instruments (cello, mandola, and guitar). In a past life, I was also a student of the humanities (Russian, to be exact), which is how I learned to make websites like this one and also this one.
The measure of greatness in a scientific idea is the extent to which it stimulates thought and opens up new lines of research.
― Paul Dirac
Image credit: NSF/ AUI/ NSF NRAO/ B.Foott
Page design by Ankit Sultana, Tim Holman, and M. J. Yantovski-Barth