Hi! I am Vidya Venkatesan, a newly minted Ph.D. in Astronomy and Astrophysics from the University of California, Irvine. I will be hosted in Eddie Schwieterman's group as a Cal-Bridge Postdoctoral Fellow at UC Riverside starting Fall 2026. I study cold planets with fresh eyes! More specifically, I explore climate and habitability of rocky exoplanets using a suite of climate models, and characterize cold Jupiter planets through direct imaging and astrometry. I also write software for astronomy research. In addition to research, I am passionate 
about teaching, pedagogy, science communication, and STEM outreach.

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My Journey

I come from a small coastal town in India. I moved to the U.S. after high school to attend California State University, Northridge, where I discovered my passion for physics while working as a telescope operator at the university's solar observatory. Despite limited internship opportunities for international students, I secured summer research positions at Stanford University and UC Irvine, experiences that equipped me with the skills and networks necessary to pursue a Ph.D. As a PhD student at UC Irvine, I was awarded a NASA FINESST fellowship to explore the habitability of planets on eccentric orbits. I also served as the lead facilitator for the Rising Stargirls program, collaborated on mentoring initiatives with Cal-Bridge and the UCI PACE program, and served as a local liaison/coding instructor for the Code Astro program.​

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Personal Interests

Outside of research, I enjoy reading and watching science fiction, traveling to new countries and national parks, swing and salsa dancing, and teaching my corgi puppy new tricks.