Chong-Chong He

Education

University of Maryland, College Park

College Park, MD, USA

Ph.D. in Astronomy

2023/05

Advisor: Massimo Ricotti · Thesis: Multiscale Radiation-MHD Simulations of Compact Star Clusters

University of Maryland, College Park

College Park, MD, USA

M.S. in Astronomy

2018/12

Advisor: Massimo Ricotti

Jilin University

Changchun, China

B.S. in Physics

2016/07

GPA: 3.92/4.0 · Dean's Honored Graduate (the highest honor awarded to graduating seniors in the college). Thesis: Numerical Modeling of Neutron Star Accretion Disks

Georgia Institute of Technology

Atlanta, GA, USA

Visiting Honors Student

2015

Supervisor: Dr. Laurens Keek and Prof. David Ballantyne · Thesis: Numerical Modeling of Neutron Star Accretion Disks

Academic Employment

The Australian National University (ANU)

Canberra, Australia

ARC Laureate Postdoctoral Fellow, RSAA

2023 – present

Supervisor: Mark Krumholz

Research Area and Achievements

Research Area: Numerical and Theoretical Study of Star Formation and Stellar Feedback

• Investigate the physics of star formation and stellar feedback through multi-scale, multi-physics numerical simulations.
• Develop GPU-native numerical methods and codes to simulate these phenomena with high performance and physical fidelity.

Key Contribution: Lead co-developer of QUOKKA, a GPU-native, AMR, multi-group radiation-MHD code for ISM and star formation simulations.

Publications

Nine first-author peer-reviewed publications; 244 total citations, h-index 7 (Google Scholar). Full list on NASA/ADS and Google Scholar.

Refereed Publications

• C.-C. He, B. D. Wibking, A. Vijayan, M. R. Krumholz, & P. S. Li, 2026, "A novel algorithm for GPU-accelerated particle-mesh interactions implemented in the QUOKKA code", The Open Journal of Astrophysics 9 (March).

• C.-C. He & M. Ricotti, 2025, "Formation of large circumstellar discs in multiscale, ideal-MHD simulations of magnetically critical, massive pre-stellar cores", Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society, 540, 175, ads:2025MNRAS.540..175H

• C.-C. He, B. D. Wibking, & M. R. Krumholz, 2024, "A novel numerical method for mixed-frame multigroup radiation-hydrodynamics with GPU acceleration implemented in the QUOKKA code", Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society, 535, 3059, ads:2024MNRAS.535.3059H

• C.-C. He, B. D. Wibking, & M. R. Krumholz, 2024, "An asymptotically correct implicit-explicit time integration scheme for finite volume radiation-hydrodynamics", Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society, 531, 1228, ads:2024MNRAS.531.1228H

• R. Hix, C.-C. He, & M. Ricotti, 2023, "Bimodal star formation in simulations of strongly magnetized giant molecular clouds", Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society, 522, 6203, ads:2023MNRAS.522.6203H

• C.-C. He & M. Ricotti, 2023, "Massive pre-stellar cores in radiation-magneto-turbulent simulations of molecular clouds", Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society, 522, 5374, ads:2023MNRAS.522.5374H

• D. K. Galloway, Z. Johnston, A. Goodwin, & C.-C. He, 2022, "Robust Inference of Neutron-star Parameters from Thermonuclear Burst Observations", The Astrophysical Journal Supplement Series, 263, 30, ads:2022ApJS..263...30G

• C.-C. He, 2021, "A Fast and Accurate Analytic Method of Calculating Galaxy Two-point Correlation Functions", The Astrophysical Journal, 921, 59, ads:2021ApJ...921...59H

• C.-C. He, M. Ricotti, & S. Geen, 2020, "Simulating star clusters across cosmic time - II. Escape fraction of ionizing photons from molecular clouds", Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society, 492, 4858, ads:2020MNRAS.492.4858H

• C.-C. He, M. Ricotti, & S. Geen, 2019, "Simulating star clusters across cosmic time - I. Initial mass function, star formation rates, and efficiencies", Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society, 489, 1880, ads:2019MNRAS.489.1880H

• C.-C. He & L. Keek, 2016, "Unstrap of X-Ray Bursts from Neutron Stars with Concave Accretion Disks", The Astrophysical Journal, 819, 47, ads:2016ApJ...819...47H

Academic Awards

Future Investigators in NASA Earth and Space Science and Technology (FINESST)

NASA, 2021

US$135,000 for three years. Selection rate: 10%.

China Youth Science and Technology Innovation Award

Communist Youth League, China, 2016

1 recipient selected per year from the university. Press release

Tang-Ao Qing Supreme Award for Excellence in Research & Practice

Jilin University, 2016

1 out of 160 students.

Dean's Honored Graduate

Jilin University, 2016

8 out of 270 graduates. The highest honor awarded to graduating seniors in the college.

Scholarship for Overseas Study

China Scholarship Council, 2014

2 recipients selected in the college.

Grant/Fellowship Funding

INCITE, Department of Energy, USA

2026

• "Large volume, phase-resolved simulations of galactic winds," Co-PI
• Allocation: 8M GPU-hours = 512M Service Units ($20.48M equivalent)
• PI: Benjamin Wibking; Co-PIs: Mark Krumholz, Chong-Chong He, Aditi Vijayan, Andrew Myers

National Computational Merit Allocation Scheme (NCMAS), NCI, Australia

2026

• "Star Formation and Feedback in a Turbulent Interstellar Medium," Co-PI
• Allocation: 29.86M Service Units ($1,190,000 equivalent). Project: jh2
• PIs: Mark Krumholz, Chong-Chong He, Aditi Vijayan, Benjamin Wibking

National Computational Merit Allocation Scheme (NCMAS), NCI, Australia

2025

• "Star Formation and Feedback in a Turbulent Interstellar Medium," Co-PI
• Allocation: 16.8M Service Units ($672,000 equivalent). Project: jh2
• PIs: Mark Krumholz, Chong-Chong He, Aditi Vijayan, Benjamin Wibking, Piyush Sharda

SummitPLUS, National Center for Computational Sciences, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, USA

2024

• "Metal Loading of Galactic Winds," Co-PI (Chief Investigator)
• Allocation: 115k node hours, or 25M Service Units ($1,000,000 equivalent)
• PIs: Mark Krumholz, Benjamin Wibking, Aditi Vijayan, Chong-Chong He, Piyush Sharda

National Computational Merit Allocation Scheme (NCMAS), NCI, Australia

2024

• "Star Formation and Feedback in a Turbulent Interstellar Medium," Co-PI
• Allocation: 25.08M Service Units ($1,003,200 equivalent). Project: jh2
• PIs: Mark Krumholz, Chong-Chong He, Aditi Vijayan, Benjamin Wibking, Piyush Sharda

Future Investigators in NASA Earth and Space Science and Technology (FINESST)

2021 – 2023

• NASA grant 80NSSC21K1850, PI
• "Multiscale RMHD Simulations of Compact Star Clusters and the Formation of Intermediate-Mass Black Holes"
• US$135,000; Grant period: 2021–2024; Active duration: 2021–2023

Jacob K. Goldhaber Travel Grant

University of Maryland, College Park, 2022

Ann G. Wylie Dissertation Fellowship (declined)

University of Maryland, College Park, 2022

US$15,000 for six months.

Research Experience

Ph.D. Research, University of Maryland, College Park

2018 – 2023

Advisor: Massimo Ricotti

Conducted multiscale radiation-magneto-hydrodynamics simulations of compact star clusters, investigating initial mass function, star formation rates, efficiencies, and the escape of ionizing radiation from molecular clouds. Studied the formation of massive pre-stellar cores in magneto-turbulent environments and their connection to stellar multiplicity. Supported by a NASA FINESST fellowship (2021–2023).

M.S. Research, University of Maryland, College Park

2016 – 2018

Advisor: Massimo Ricotti

Developed radiation-hydrodynamics simulations to study star cluster formation and stellar feedback processes in turbulent molecular clouds.

Center for Relativistic Astrophysics, Georgia Institute of Technology

2015

Advisors: Dr. Laurens Keek and Prof. David R. Ballantyne

Developed code to compute the angular distribution of X-ray radiation from neutron star low-mass X-ray binaries, comprising direct burst emission, disk reflection, and persistent flux. Analyzed the effects of general relativity on observed burst anisotropy.

Center of Experimental Physics, Institute of High Energy Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences

2014

Analyzed particle detector data using C and ROOT.

Technical Skills

Programming Languages: C/C++, CUDA, Python, Fortran, Julia, MATLAB, Mathematica, JavaScript, HTML/CSS

Scientific Computing: High-performance computing (HPC), scientific visualization

Teaching

Graduate Teaching Assistant, Department of Astronomy, University of Maryland

2016 – 2019

• Courses taught: Introduction to Astronomy, Galaxies, Cosmology, Origin of the Universe, Stars and Stellar Systems, Solar System Astronomy, and Life in the Universe
• Led classroom discussions and laboratory sessions, prepared homework and exam solutions, graded assignments, and conducted office hours
• Teaching portfolio: chongchonghe.github.io/teaching

Research Supervision

James Watt (PhD student, ANU)

2025 – present

Ph.D. co-supervisor, with Prof. Mark Krumholz as primary advisor.

Chuhan Zhang (PhD student, ANU)

2025 – present

Ph.D. co-supervisor, with Prof. Mark Krumholz as primary advisor.

Mengxuan Chen (PhD student, Tsinghua University)

2025 – present

Supervisor on a project developing a dust module for QUOKKA, with Prof. Hui Li from Tsinghua University as primary advisor.

Xunuo Huang (Mathematics Undergraduate, ANU)

2025 – present

Supervisor on an undergraduate project developing numerical methods for radiation-hydrodynamics.

Rongjun Huang (Master student, ANU)

2024

Mentored a code development project resulting in a frontend for reading QUOKKA data in the Python library YT.

Ronan Hix (Undergraduate, University of Maryland)

2021 – 2023

Primary supervisor for undergraduate research project. Supervision resulted in a student-led paper published in MNRAS and multiple graduate school offers, including Princeton University.

Service

Postdoc Seminar Organizer, RSAA, ANU

2024 – present

• Co-founded an early-career researcher community at RSAA, organizing seminars and social events to foster a supportive environment for postdocs and PhD students
• Organized a joint Postdoc–PhD seminar series featuring early-career researchers on proposal writing and research methodologies
• Led seminars on computational proposal writing and research strategies, drawing ~30 participants
• Organized ~10 social and networking events for early-career researchers at Mount Stromlo Observatory

Journal Club Organizer, Department of Astronomy, University of Maryland

2018 – 2021

Led the department astronomy journal club.

Referee, Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society

2020 – present

Member, American Astronomical Society

2016 – 2023

Selected Outreach

Computational Science Blog

2022 – present

Created and maintain a scientific blogging platform featuring articles on computational astrophysics. Available at: chongchonghe.github.io/computational-science

"Cosmic Flashlights in the Early Galaxies", Amsterdam Science

2020

Featured in Amsterdam Science Magazine (page 20), October 2020.

The Great Conjunction 2020, University of Exeter

2020

Produced educational animations for the public outreach program led by the Astrophysics Group at the University of Exeter. Contributed to an educational video; source code on GitHub.

GRAD-MAP Python Bootcamp, University of Maryland

2018 – 2020

Served as Lecture Assistant for the GRAD-MAP Python Bootcamp, supporting community college students training in computational methods.

"Maryland Day" Volunteer, University of Maryland

2018 – 2020

Participated in the annual university-wide public outreach event, engaging with the community to promote scientific literacy.

Talks and Seminars

Invited Talks and Seminars

• 2025/10 — "From CPUs to GPUs: Transforming Star Formation Simulations with QUOKKA"

  Fudan University, Astronomy Colloquium

• 2025/10 — "From CPUs to GPUs: Transforming Star Formation Simulations with QUOKKA"

  Department of Astronomy, Westlake University, Astronomy Seminar

• 2025/10 — "From CPUs to GPUs: Transforming Star Formation Simulations with QUOKKA"

  Department of Astronomy, Shanghai Jiao Tong University

• 2025/10 — "From CPUs to GPUs: Transforming Star Formation Simulations with QUOKKA"

  Department of Astronomy, Nanjing University, Astronomy Seminar

• 2025/10 — "Exploring Star Formation and Feedback: Insights and Future Prospects through GPU-Accelerated Numerical Simulations"

  Shanghai Astronomical Observatory, Perspectives in Star Formation — Senior Insights, Young Visions

• 2025/08 — "GPU-Accelerated Simulations of Star Formation and Feedback in Galaxies: Future Prospects"

  International Centre for Interdisciplinary Science and Education, Quy Nhon, Vietnam, Star Formation in Different Environments 2025

• 2025/07 — "Challenges of Direct (and Collisional) N-body Calculations in GPU-Based Hydrodynamics Codes"

  Lorentz Center@Oort, Leiden University, The Netherlands, Numerical Recipes in Star Formation

• 2025/01 — "Understanding Star Formation and Feedback: Insights and Future Prospects through GPU-Accelerated Numerical Simulations"

  Westlake University, Astronomy Seminar 2025 #3

• 2024/11 — "GPU-optimized Radiation-Hydrodynamics Implemented in QUOKKA"

  Department of Astronomy, Tsinghua University, Numerical Astrophysics Workshop

• 2024/06 — "Unveiling the Complexities of Star Formation: Insights from Multiscale Radiation-MHD Simulations and Future Prospects"

  Department of Physics, Jilin University, Physics Colloquium

• 2024/06 — "Unveiling the Complexities of Star Formation: Insights from Multiscale Radiation-MHD Simulations and Future Prospects"

  Department of Astronomy, Xiamen University, Astronomy Colloquium

• 2022/12 — "Star Formation Laws Regulated by Photoionization Feedback"

  Department of Astrophysical Sciences, Princeton University, Star Formation/ISM Seminar

• 2022/11 — "Multiscale Simulations of Star Formation from Molecular Clouds"

  Center for Relativistic Astrophysics, Georgia Institute of Technology, Astrophysics Seminar

• 2020/11 — "Simulating Star Formation: Photoionization Feedback and the Initial Mass Function"

  Anton Pannekoek Institute for Astronomy, University of Amsterdam, Astronomy Seminar (remote talk)

• 2020 — "Simulating Star Clusters: Photoionization Feedback and Fragmentation of Proto-stellar Disks"

  The Emmy Noether Research Group on Massive Star Formation, University of Tübingen, Astronomy Seminar (remote talk)

Selected Contributed Talks and Seminars

• 2023/05 — "Star Cluster Formation and Synthetic JWST Observation"

  Paralia Katerini, Greece, The Olympian Symposium 2023

• 2023/01 — "Multiscale Radiation-MHD Simulations of Dense Star Clusters" (Dissertation Talk)

  AAS, USA, 241st American Astronomical Society Meeting

• 2022/03 — "Dense Star Clusters from Multi-scale Simulations of Magneto-turbulent Molecular Clouds"

  Aspen Center for Physics, USA, Aspen Winter Conference

• 2021/01 — "Photoionization Feedback and the Escape of LyC Photons" (iPoster presentation)

  AAS, USA, 237th American Astronomical Society Meeting