USU Physicists Attempting to Help Train an AI to Aid in Identifying Black Holes

Editor's note: This is a preview of a feature story on Maria Rodriguez and her black hole research in an upcoming issue of Utah State Magazine. You can read that upon publication in April at utahstatemagazine.usu.edu

There are objects in space so dense not even light can escape from them.

The gravity of these objects creates a boundary, called the event horizon, beyond which no matter or energy can escape.

But black holes don’t take Maria Rodriguez to a dark place. In fact, a smile breaks out across her face and her countenance quickly brightens when discussing recent research breakthroughs involving these mysterious cosmic bodies.

“So many things have happened in just the last 10 years that this is now the Platinum Era of black holes thanks to all the data we’re getting,” says Rodriguez, an associate professor of physics in Utah State University’s College of Science. “From the time I started studying black holes to now, I am just thrilled that this is happening. This is like the Disneyland of black holes."