Sanjana Curtis is a nuclear astrophysicist interested in the origin of elements and electromagnetic transients, such as those produced by core-collapse supernovae and merging neutron stars. Sanjana joined Oregon State University as an Assistant Professor of Physics in January 2025. She completed her PhD in 2020, working under the guidance of Prof. Carla Fröhlich at North Carolina State University. After graduating, Sanjana worked as a postdoctoral scholar at the University of Amsterdam and at the University of Chicago. In 2023, she was awarded the NSF Astronomy and Astrophysics postdoctoral fellowship, which brought her to UC Berkeley prior to joining OSU. In addition to her academic work, she is an active science communicator, engaging the public through her writing and videos on a variety of social media platforms. She has written popular science articles for Scientific American and appeared on several science podcasts, including Mindscape by Sean Carroll and Clear+Vivid by Alan Alda. In 2024, Sanjana won the Schmidt award for Excellence in Science Communications, given by the National Academies in partnership with Schmidt Sciences, securing the top prize in the early career researcher category.

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