Prof. Meredith Hughes studies planet formation by observing the disks of gas and dust around young stars using radio interferometers.  Her research investigates the structure and evolution of circumstellar disks across the evolutionary sequence: the primordial protoplanetary disks around pre-main sequence stars that set the initial conditions for planet formation, the tenuous debris disks around main sequence stars that probe the gravitational potential of mature planetary systems, as well as the "transition" disks that exhibit properties intermediate between these two evolutionary endpoints. 

Prof. Hughes graduated summa cum laude from Yale University with a B.S. degree in Physics & Astronomy, and went on to earn A.M. and Ph.D. degrees in Astronomy from Harvard University.  She was a Miller Fellow in the UC Berkeley Department of Astronomy before joining the faculty at Wesleyan University in January 2013.  She is the recipient of the Harvard Astronomy Department's Fireman Fellowship for outstanding doctoral thesis and Bok Prize for research excellence by a PhD graduate under the age of 35, as well as a Cottrell Scholar Award recognizing outstanding teacher-scholars.