Maya Beleznay – 2026 Wonderfest Science Envoy

Maya Beleznay is a third-year PhD candidate at Stanford University, advised by Roger Romani. Her work focuses on the search for the most massive neutron stars to better our understanding of the equation of state at supranuclear densities. To do this, she studies the light curves of ‘black widow pulsars’ – binary systems where a rapidly spinning neutron star ablates its closely-bound companion, blowing off material whose mass is transferred to the neutron star, forming the heaviest such objects known to date. Outside of research, she is passionate about science outreach and mentoring students in the US and Hungary.