Daniel Brethauer – 2025 Wonderfest Science Envoy

Daniel Brethauer is a 4th year PhD student in the Astronomy Department at UC Berkeley. Daniel is studying how the universe produces the heaviest metals on the Periodic Table such as gold, platinum, or silver by simulating the explosions they come from called kilonova and how to connect the properties of the kilonova with what astronomers can observe. When Daniel is not conducting research, he spends his time baking cookies and brownies, taking care of his cat Basil, and going on adventures with his fiancée Bella.