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Adi Foord

Assistant Professor of Astronomy and Astrophysics, University of Maryland, Baltimore County
Before joining the UMBC Physics Department, Dr. Foord was a Porat Postdoctoral Fellow at Stanford University, working at the Kavli Institute for Particle Astrophysics and Cosmology (KIPAC). While at KIPAC, Dr. Foord worked with Chandra and XMM-Newton to measure the X-ray activity of interacting supermassive black holes. She also used the Hubble Space Telescope, Sloan Digital Sky Survey, and WISE Infrared telescope to learn more about how the environments of supermassive black holes impact their evolution and growth.

Although there is now broad consensus that active galactic nuclei (AGN) play important roles in the evolution of their surroundings, the processes that trigger the various forms of AGN activity remain unclear. Major galaxy mergers have been predicted to induce AGN, however, whether or not galaxy-galaxy interactions trigger accretion onto SMBHs remains a topic of debate. Dr. Foord’s research focuses on observational flags of merger-driven SMBH growth, or dual AGN; they are signposts of ongoing galaxy formation and represent rare instances where the link between environment and black hole growth (or, lack thereof) can be probed. As an observational astronomer, Dr. Foord uses X-ray observations (Chandra, XMM-Newton, Swift) to observe accreting supermassive black holes, and connects their X-ray activity to the emission of their host galaxies (in optical and IR, with telescopes such as SDSS, HST, and WISE). Generally, Dr. Foord is interested in high-resolution X-ray astronomy and enjoys searching for evidence of extended X-ray emission around accreting supermassive black holes to better understand their evolution across cosmic time.

Space Science Series

Could a telescope ever see the beginning of time? An astronomer explains

Apr 09, 2024 12:48 pm UTC| Science

The James Webb Space Telescope, or JWST for short, is one of the most advanced telescopes ever built. Planning for JWST began over 25 years ago, and construction efforts spanned over a decade. It was launched into space on...

Economy

Asian Currencies Rise as Dollar Weakens; Yen Holds Steady Amid Japan Intervention Watch

Most Asian currencies edged higher on Friday after the U.S. dollar retreated from a 13-month high following weaker-than-expected U.S. nonfarm payrolls data, raising fresh questions about the Federal Reserves interest rate...

Asian Stocks Rebound as Tech Shares Rally on Fed Rate Cut Hopes and Easing Iran Tensions

Asian stock markets rebounded sharply on Friday as investors returned to technology shares following a week of heavy selling, while easing geopolitical tensions and growing expectations of Federal Reserve interest rate...

Oil Prices Slip as Oversupply Concerns and U.S.-Iran Talks Shape Market Outlook

Oil prices edged lower on Friday as improving global crude supplies and expectations of near-term oversupply continued to pressure the market, while traders reduced bearish positions ahead of the U.S. holiday weekend....

Gold Price Today: Bullion Heads for First Weekly Gain as Weak U.S. Jobs Data Eases Rate Hike Fears

Gold prices stabilized on Friday as weaker-than-expected U.S. nonfarm payrolls data eased concerns over additional Federal Reserve interest rate hikes, helping bullion recover after recently falling to an eight-month low....

China Services PMI Beats Forecasts as Strong Demand Supports June Growth

Chinas services sector expanded at a faster-than-expected pace in June, highlighting the resilience of the countrys economy despite ongoing challenges in domestic consumption. A private business survey released on Friday...

Politics

US Ambassador Prioritizes Cook Islands Critical Minerals, Warns of China’s Pacific Influence

The United States is placing greater emphasis on securing critical minerals from the Cook Islands, with newly appointed U.S. Ambassador Jared Novelly identifying the resource-rich nation as a key strategic priority while...

Air Force Investigates Officer After Capitol Protest Calling for Trump, Vance Impeachment

The U.S. Air Force has launched an investigation into an active-duty officer who publicly called for the impeachment of President Donald Trump and Vice President JD Vance during a protest outside the U.S. Capitol, drawing...

Venezuela Interim President Defends Earthquake Response as Death Toll Climbs

Venezuelas Interim President Delcy Rodriguez on Thursday strongly defended her governments response to the devastating earthquakes that struck the countrys northern coast, rejecting accusations that officials reacted too...

Taiwan Simulates Chinese Blockade and Invasion in Major Civil Defense Drill

Taiwan has stepped up its civil defense and military preparedness with one of its most comprehensive resilience exercises, simulating a Chinese blockade, cyberattacks, disinformation, infrastructure sabotage, a major...

US Appeals Court Limits ICE Detention Without Bond Hearings After 90 Days

A U.S. federal appeals court ruled that Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) cannot detain migrants for more than 90 days without giving them an opportunity to seek release through a bond hearing, dealing a setback to...

Science

Blue Origin New Glenn Explosion Could Delay Launch Operations Until 2028

Blue Origin is facing a significant setback after a dramatic explosion involving its New Glenn rocket severely damaged a launch pad at Cape Canaveral, Florida. According to NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman, repairs to the...

Blue Origin New Glenn Rocket Explodes During Launch Pad Test, Delaying Space Ambitions

Blue Origin suffered a major setback after its uncrewed New Glenn rocket exploded during a launch pad test in Florida on Thursday, raising new challenges for Jeff Bezos space company as it competes with Elon Musks SpaceX...

SpaceX Delays Starship V3 Launch Ahead of Potential Record IPO

SpaceX on Thursday postponed the highly anticipated launch of its 12th Starship rocket test from Texas after technical issues interrupted the final countdown. The company now plans to attempt the Starship V3 launch again...

Trump Administration Releases New UFO Files and Apollo Mission Records

The U.S. Defense Department has released dozens of previously classified UFO-related files following an order from President Donald Trump, sparking renewed debate over unidentified anomalous phenomena (UAP) and government...

China vs. NASA: The New Moon Race and What's at Stake by 2030

The space race is back and this time, its a direct competition between the United States and China for dominance on the lunar surface. NASAs Artemis II mission recently made history when four astronauts flew farther into...

Technology

Anthropic Tightens AI Access Controls After Reports of China-Based Workarounds

Anthropic is strengthening measures to prevent unauthorized access to its artificial intelligence services from China after discovering that several Chinese companies had allegedly bypassed its restrictions, according to a...

Kuaishou Stock Jumps as Kling AI Secures $2 Billion Funding Round

Hong Kong-listed shares of Kuaishou Technology (HK:1024) climbed more than 6% on Thursday after its spun-off artificial intelligence business, Kling AI, secured an initial $2 billion in venture capital funding to...

Meta CEO Zuckerberg Says AI Agent Development Has Slowed Despite Massive AI Investment

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ: META) CEO Mark Zuckerberg has acknowledged that the companys progress in developing artificial intelligence (AI) agents has been slower than expected, despite Metas aggressive investment in AI...

Kioxia Bets on AI Memory Boom With Next-Gen NAND Production in Japan

Kioxia is set to mark a major milestone on Friday with a ceremony at its manufacturing facility in northern Japan as the company prepares to begin mass production of its next-generation NAND flash memory chips. The move...

OpenAI Proposes 5% U.S. Government Stake Amid AI Policy Talks

OpenAI has reportedly proposed granting the U.S. government a 5% ownership stake in the artificial intelligence company as it seeks to strengthen ties with Washington and address growing political scrutiny over the rapidly...