In this series of posts, we sit down with a few keynote speakers of the 245th AAS meeting to learn more about them and their research. You can see a full schedule of their talks here and read our other interviews here!
What happens when a massive star explodes, and how does this process influence the galaxies they inhabit? Dr. Maria Drout, an Assistant Professor at the University of Toronto, seeks answers to these mysteries. Dr. Drout received the 2024 Newton Lacy Pierce Prize in Astronomy for her work spanning massive stars, exotic transients, and the elements they create, offering a unique perspective on the life cycles of stars and their significance.

Dr. Drout’s journey into astronomy wasn’t a straightforward path. While growing up, her interests shifted through different phases—first considering archaeology and later architecture, driven by her love for math and art. During high school, her fascination with astronomy took shape after reading a book that chronicled the lives of professional astronomers, including their adventures on observing trips atop remote mountains. “It had a really big impression on me,” she said. That experience ultimately inspired her decision to major in astronomy in college. Dr. Drout’s path to becoming an astrophysicist began with a Bachelor’s in Physics and Astronomy at the University of Iowa, advanced studies at Cambridge, and then a Ph.D. at Harvard University.
Dr. Drout’s work intersects two key areas: the study of massive star evolution, especially in binary systems where two stars orbit each other, and the study of supernovae and transients. Her team is split between these two research tracks, but they are united in the goal of understanding how stars reach their explosive end states. Dr. Drout is particularly interested in the role of binary systems, which adds complexity as the interaction between stars in binaries introduces significant uncertainties. By investigating rare stellar populations, Dr. Drout hopes to gain new insights into the parameters of stellar evolution and refine our understanding of the evolution of massive stars.
One of Dr. Drout’s most memorable contributions was her involvement in observing the electromagnetic counterpart to gravitational wave (multi-messenger astronomy) event GW170817 from a neutron star merger detected by LIGO. Though not an expert in multi-messenger astronomy, her background in rapidly following up on transients from her PhD proved invaluable. When the neutron star merger occurred, she had just started her postdoc at Carnegie Observatories, which had access to the Las Campanas Observatory in Chile—ideally positioned to observe the event just 12 hours after the merger. The team quickly decided to use both Magellan telescopes to search for the source, and in one of their first images, they found a bright, unmistakable new transient near a galaxy. “It gave me chills,” she recalled, though the excitement was soon followed by weeks of intense observations.
Dr. Drout also leads efforts to study newly discovered “hydrogen-stripped binary stars.” These stars, which have had their outer hydrogen layers removed by their companions, challenge traditional models of stellar evolution and offer clues about the formation of exotic transients. Observations of hydrogen-poor core-collapse supernovae suggest these events are likely linked to stripped stars, particularly those in binary systems. Despite these predictions, no stars like this had been observed until their discovery, likely due to observational biases. Alongside collaborator Ylva Götberg, Dr. Drout was recently named to TIME’s “100 Next” list for their groundbreaking discovery of this population of stars.
Dr. Drout is highly dedicated to and involved in science communication. Dr. Drout reflects on her involvement with Astrobites as one of the early authors. She found it immensely beneficial on two fronts: it compelled her to engage deeply with research papers and communicate them in a way that made them easier to understand, significantly improving her comprehension and communication skills. Beyond the writing, Dr Drout valued the community of fellow graduate students involved in Astrobites. It provided her with a network of peers from various institutions, many of whom she collaborated with, edited for, or interacted with on committees. These relationships have remained important throughout her career, as she continues to stay in touch with many of these colleagues. Her advice for early-career researchers is to find your people—those at similar stages in their careers, whether in your field or beyond. She emphasizes that the people you connect with are essential to navigating the challenges of academia, noting, “This job is hard. And so you need people you can lean on and ask for help.”
Dr. Drout explains that ComSciCon was initially conceived as a conference to connect Astrobites authors who were spread out geographically. However, during brainstorming sessions, the organizers realized that the core value of Astrobites was its focus on science communication, which wasn’t limited to astronomy. This led to the evolution of ComSciCon, which aimed to provide a “boot camp” style training for STEM graduate students in science communication. In addition to the training, ComSciCon provided a networking opportunity for students, allowing them to connect with both experts and peers.
Dr. Drout’s plenary talk at AAS 245 will delve into the physics of massive stars and their dramatic endpoints. Her presentation follows a theoretical pathway of binary star evolution leading to a neutron star merger—events detectable by observatories like LIGO, Virgo, and KAGRA through gravitational waves. Dr. Drout emphasizes the complex, multi-step process these stars undergo to eventually form merging neutron stars, shedding light on the many uncertainties at each stage and how researchers are working to solve these puzzles.
Join Dr. Maria Drout on Wednesday, January 15, 2025, at 4:40 PM ET for her Newton Lacy Pierce Prize Lecture, “The Evolution, Influence, and Ultimate Fate of Massive Stars,” and learn about the complex lives of massive stars.
Edited by: Lindsey Gordon
Featured Image Credit: AAS