About the Lab

The Miller PASTA Lab studies how stars live and die. We focus on core-collapse and thermonuclear supernovae, rare explosive transients, and variable stars. Our group blends observational surveys (ZTF, LS4) with AI and statistical methods to discover and characterize events in real time.

News

New type of supernova published in Nature

August 20, 2025

Our team, led by Steve Schulze, reported SN 2021yfj—an extraordinary event exposing silicon/sulfur-rich layers, offering a direct glimpse into a massive star’s interior.

Nabeel Rehemtulla named Northwestern Presidential Fellow

April 21, 2025

Congratulations to Nabeel on receiving Northwestern’s most prestigious graduate fellowship, recognizing exceptional research leadership in AI-driven supernova discovery.

Lindsey Kwok selected as a NASA Hubble Fellow

March 31, 2025

Lindsey joins the 2025 NHFP cohort as a Hubble Fellow for research on white-dwarf supernovae with JWST infrared spectroscopy.

First fully automated supernova discovery and classification by BTSbot

October 16, 2023

BTSbot autonomously detected, triggered follow-up, and classified SN 2023tyk—marking a milestone in automated time-domain astronomy.