2026 Events

One step at a time, the speaker completed a master's degree in Korea and a PhD in Australia, and last December began her first postdoc as an astronomer in France. This talk shares how graduate life in Korea and abroad (Australia) differed in her experience, the difficulties faced while applying for overseas postdoc positions, and the lessons learned along the way. It also covers how she found and applied to overseas postdoc positions and what the postdoc life is actually like. Drawn entirely from her own experience, the talk is offered in the hope of helping those who want to continue their studies and research abroad, or who are simply curious about the life of an astronomer living overseas.

When should you start preparing to apply to an astronomy graduate program abroad, and what does it take? Drawing on two years of pursuing a master's in astronomy at Seoul National University while preparing applications — which led to admission to the astronomy PhD program at the University of Chicago — this talk walks through the entire overseas application process. It covers, in chronological order, the decision to apply abroad, researching schools and research areas, building an application strategy, writing the statement of purpose, requesting recommendation letters, and preparing for interviews, along with what mattered most in preparation, the missteps along the way, and practical tips gathered while assembling the applications. Shared candidly from the perspective of someone admitted but not yet enrolled, the talk aims to give students considering or just starting this path a realistic starting point and concrete direction.

"Leaving astronomy" is something many astronomy students consider at least once. Based on the speaker's experience, this talk shares the trigger for leaving astronomy, the efforts made to transition, and the pros and cons of life after the move. Looking back at student days, there was very little available information on this path, which made it feel quite vague. While this talk doesn't represent every case, it is offered in the hope that it will help YAM members, even in a small way, as they navigate their own career decisions.

The development and progress of observational instruments hold an important place in the history of astronomy. In particular, polarimetric instruments — which can probe the scattering properties of light — provide new information about celestial objects beyond spectroscopy and photometry. The talk covered the speaker's various polarimeter projects, including TRIPOL attached to the former SNU 60 cm telescope, M-TRIPOL on the Bohyunsan 1.8 m telescope, and SQUIDPOL developed jointly with Dr. Juyeon Kim. He also shared experiences relevant to the job search for fellow young astronomers.