Spring 2026 · Friday Seminar Series

Observational Astrophysics Student Seminar

A weekly student seminar focused on recent progress in observational astrophysics. Students present selected papers, lead discussion, and practice critical evaluation of current research.

Course overview

Teaching team

Instructor
Yi Mao (E321) · ymao@tsinghua.edu.cn
Instructor
Dongzi Li (E222) · dzli@tsinghua.edu.cn
Teaching Assistant
Jiayi Li (E207) · l-jy21@mails.tsinghua.edu.cn

Seminar format

Presentation
15 minutes per student talk
Referee segment
Question session (10 minutes) plus report
Class participation
Everyone submits the questionnaire during class

Key reminders

Paper proposal
Presenters should propose the article 7 days before the lecture.
Slides
Please submit slides to Jiayi.
Assignments
Referees are normally notified one week in advance.

How to choose a paper

Category 1

New instruments

  • Focus on proposals, concepts, or commissioning results from roughly the last 2 years.
  • Identify the main technical breakthrough and the main limitations.
  • Explain which capability improves most over existing facilities: sensitivity, angular resolution, spectral coverage, time resolution, or survey speed.
  • Discuss why the instrument is being built now and what scientific questions it will open.
Category 2

Major breakthrough

  • Focus on a major result from roughly the last month.
  • Summarize the current state of the field and what limitation existed before this work.
  • Explain the unique strengths that enabled the breakthrough.
  • Describe the scientific impact and whether the result changes the field more broadly.
Category 3

A strong paper in your own field

  • Focus on a recent and well-motivated paper, typically within roughly the last week.
  • Provide clear background and explain the main methods and conclusions.
  • State what is new, what remains uncertain, and how the paper fits into the larger field.
  • Highlight possible applications beyond the immediate topic when relevant.
Protocol comic for class roles
1

Presenter

Choose and propose the paper 7 days before the seminar. Give a focused 15-minute presentation and prepare clear take-home messages.

2

Referees

Prepare questions and a short referee-style response. The referee discussion lasts about 10 minutes.

3

Chair

Introduce the speaker, keep time, and guide the question-and-answer session. The chair should be in the same field as the speaker.

4

Everyone

Attend actively, ask questions, and submit the class questionnaire during the seminar.

Current sign-up and assignments

Feb 27, 2026
Please remember submit the slides to Jiayi
Talk A
Lecture
Paper link not yet added.
Talk B
TBD
Paper link not yet added.
Talk C
TBD
Paper link not yet added.
Mar 06, 2026
The referees will be notified a week in advance
Mar 13, 2026
 
Mar 20, 2026
 
Talk A
TBD
Paper link not yet added.
Mar 27, 2026
 
Apr 03, 2026
 
Talk A
Pengjun Lu
Paper link not yet added.
Talk B
Qinnan Zhu
Paper link not yet added.
Talk C
TBD
Paper link not yet added.
Apr 10, 2026
 
Talk A
Yuqian Gui
Paper link not yet added.
Talk B
Jixuan Yang
Paper link not yet added.
Talk C
TBD
Paper link not yet added.
Apr 17, 2026
 
Talk A
Yifan Zheng
Paper link not yet added.
Talk B
Jiayi Chen
Paper link not yet added.
Talk C
Jiayue Zhang
Paper link not yet added.
Apr 24, 2026
 
Talk A
Sijia Cai
Paper link not yet added.
Talk B
Haitong Wang
Paper link not yet added.
Talk C
TBD
Paper link not yet added.
May 01, 2026
May Day Holiday
May 08, 2026
 
Talk A
Yaofei He
Paper link not yet added.
Talk B
Haowei Peng
Paper link not yet added.
Talk C
TBD
Paper link not yet added.
May 15, 2026
 
Talk A
Xiaorui Yang
Paper link not yet added.
Talk B
Jingyi Zhang
Paper link not yet added.
Talk C
Quanyi Liu
Paper link not yet added.
May 22, 2026
 
Talk A
Zhuoyang Li
Paper link not yet added.
Talk B
Ruixuan Tian
Paper link not yet added.
Talk C
Zhejian Zhang
Paper link not yet added.
May 29, 2026
 
Talk A
TBD
Paper link not yet added.
Talk C
Qingru Hu
Paper link not yet added.
Jun 05, 2026
 
Talk A
Xin Qiao
Paper link not yet added.
Talk B
TBD
Paper link not yet added.
Talk C
TBD
Paper link not yet added.
Jun 12, 2026
 
Talk A
Yunyi Tang
Paper link not yet added.
Talk B
TBD
Paper link not yet added.
Talk C
TBD
Paper link not yet added.
Mar 06, 2026
Chair plus two referees for each talk
Talk A
Chair: 陈孟萱
Referees
  • 屈之硕
  • 黄睿丰
Talk B
Chair: 覃津
Referees
  • 杨季轩
  • 贺尧飞
Talk C
Chair: 胡清茹
Referees
  • 朱信成
  • 李天皓
Mar 13, 2026
Chair plus two referees for each talk
Talk A
Chair: 杨晓睿
Referees
  • 苟诗涵
  • 任海滨
Talk B
Chair: 朱沁楠
Referees
  • 张喆戬
  • 卢芃君
Talk C
Chair: 李志炫
Referees
  • 彭浩玮
  • 乔鑫
Mar 20, 2026
Chair plus two referees for each talk
Talk A
Chair: TBD
Referees
TBD
Talk B
Chair: 张靖毅
Referees
  • 孙厚义
  • 刘权毅
Talk C
Chair: 易天
Referees
  • 陈佳怡
  • 唐昀毅
Mar 27, 2026
Chair plus two referees for each talk
Talk A
Chair: 郑伊凡
Referees
  • 田睿轩
  • 王海童
Talk B
Chair: 唐枭泓
Referees
  • 李卓洋
  • 蔡思嘉
Talk C
Chair: 张嘉越
Referees
  • 孔垂政
  • 杨晶
Apr 03, 2026
Chair plus two referees for each talk
Talk A
Chair: 韦乐瑶
Referees
TBD
Talk B
Chair: TBD
Referees
TBD
Talk C
Chair: TBD
Referees
TBD
Apr 10, 2026
Chair plus two referees for each talk
Talk A
Chair: TBD
Referees
TBD
Talk B
Chair: TBD
Referees
TBD
Talk C
Chair: TBD
Referees
TBD
Apr 17, 2026
Chair plus two referees for each talk
Talk A
Chair: TBD
Referees
TBD
Talk B
Chair: TBD
Referees
TBD
Talk C
Chair: TBD
Referees
TBD
Apr 24, 2026
Chair plus two referees for each talk
Talk A
Chair: TBD
Referees
TBD
Talk B
Chair: TBD
Referees
TBD
Talk C
Chair: TBD
Referees
TBD
May 01, 2026
Chair plus two referees for each talk
Talk A
Chair: TBD
Referees
TBD
Talk B
Chair: TBD
Referees
TBD
Talk C
Chair: TBD
Referees
TBD
May 08, 2026
Chair plus two referees for each talk
Talk A
Chair: TBD
Referees
TBD
Talk B
Chair: TBD
Referees
TBD
Talk C
Chair: TBD
Referees
TBD
May 15, 2026
Chair plus two referees for each talk
Talk A
Chair: TBD
Referees
TBD
Talk B
Chair: TBD
Referees
TBD
Talk C
Chair: TBD
Referees
TBD
May 22, 2026
Chair plus two referees for each talk
Talk A
Chair: TBD
Referees
TBD
Talk B
Chair: TBD
Referees
TBD
Talk C
Chair: TBD
Referees
TBD
May 29, 2026
Chair plus two referees for each talk
Talk A
Chair: TBD
Referees
TBD
Talk B
Chair: TBD
Referees
TBD
Talk C
Chair: TBD
Referees
TBD
Jun 05, 2026
Chair plus two referees for each talk
Talk A
Chair: TBD
Referees
TBD
Talk B
Chair: TBD
Referees
TBD
Talk C
Chair: TBD
Referees
TBD
Jun 12, 2026
Chair plus two referees for each talk
Talk A
Chair: TBD
Referees
TBD
Talk B
Chair: TBD
Referees
TBD
Talk C
Chair: TBD
Referees
TBD