It is the observatory’s pleasure to welcome EAO Fellow Dr. Junhao Liu to the EAO/JCMT observatory team.
Junhao obtained his BSc in 2015 and PhD in 2021 from Nanjing University, and was enrolled in a long-term predoctoral fellowship program at CfA from 2018 through 2021. His research is focused on studying the role of magnetic fields in star formation, especially in the early stage, with polarized dust emission observations using mm/submm single-dish telescopes and telescope arrays (e.g., JCMT, SMA, ALMA). The main goals of his research are to calibrate the statistical methods used to estimate the magnetic field strength, apply these methods on dust polarization maps to derive the field strength, quantitatively assess the relative importance of the magnetic field compared to gravity and turbulence, and addressing the dynamical role of magnetic fields in the fragmentation and collapse of dense clumps and cores. At EAO, Junhao will look to use the JCMT and other mm/submm telescopes/arrays for dust polarization surveys of a large sample of star formation regions to derive some general conclusions on the role of magnetic fields in different scales and in different evolutionary stages of star formation. Further information on Junhao’s research was provided at a seminar provided in July 2021. Alongside research Junhao will be spending 50% of his time on observatory support.