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Adi Foord

Assistant Professor of Astronomy and Astrophysics, University of Maryland, Baltimore County
Before joining the UMBC Physics Department, Dr. Foord was a Porat Postdoctoral Fellow at Stanford University, working at the Kavli Institute for Particle Astrophysics and Cosmology (KIPAC). While at KIPAC, Dr. Foord worked with Chandra and XMM-Newton to measure the X-ray activity of interacting supermassive black holes. She also used the Hubble Space Telescope, Sloan Digital Sky Survey, and WISE Infrared telescope to learn more about how the environments of supermassive black holes impact their evolution and growth.

Although there is now broad consensus that active galactic nuclei (AGN) play important roles in the evolution of their surroundings, the processes that trigger the various forms of AGN activity remain unclear. Major galaxy mergers have been predicted to induce AGN, however, whether or not galaxy-galaxy interactions trigger accretion onto SMBHs remains a topic of debate. Dr. Foord’s research focuses on observational flags of merger-driven SMBH growth, or dual AGN; they are signposts of ongoing galaxy formation and represent rare instances where the link between environment and black hole growth (or, lack thereof) can be probed. As an observational astronomer, Dr. Foord uses X-ray observations (Chandra, XMM-Newton, Swift) to observe accreting supermassive black holes, and connects their X-ray activity to the emission of their host galaxies (in optical and IR, with telescopes such as SDSS, HST, and WISE). Generally, Dr. Foord is interested in high-resolution X-ray astronomy and enjoys searching for evidence of extended X-ray emission around accreting supermassive black holes to better understand their evolution across cosmic time.

Space Science Series

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The James Webb Space Telescope, or JWST for short, is one of the most advanced telescopes ever built. Planning for JWST began over 25 years ago, and construction efforts spanned over a decade. It was launched into space on...

Economy

RBA Raises Interest Rates by 25 Basis Points as Inflation Pressures Persist

The Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) raised interest rates by 25 basis points on Tuesday, lifting its benchmark cash rate to 3.85% from 3.65%, in a move that was widely anticipated by markets. The decision reflects the...

US–India Trade Turbocharge: Stocks Poised to Ride the Export Wave

The new US-India trade agreement highlights businesses with significant US market exposure by lowering duties to 18% on Indian exports and providing zero-tariff access for US products. Where US revenue shares vary from 10%...

Japan’s Agricultural, Forestry and Fishery Exports Hit Record High in 2025 Despite Tariffs

Japans exports of agricultural, forestry and fishery products surged to a new all-time high in 2025, rising 12.8% year on year to 1.701 trillion yen (approximately $10.9 billion), according to the Ministry of Agriculture,...

China and Uruguay Strengthen Strategic Partnership Amid Shifting Global Order

China and Uruguay have reaffirmed their commitment to deeper cooperation, with Chinese President Xi Jinping calling on both countries to work together to promote an equal and orderly multipolar world and inclusive economic...

Taiwan Urges Stronger Trade Ties With Fellow Democracies, Rejects Economic Dependence on China

Taiwan should deepen trade and economic cooperation with fellow democracies rather than China, President Lai Ching-te said on Tuesday, outlining his administrations strategy to strengthen collaboration with the United...

Politics

Federal Judge Blocks Trump Administration Move to End TPS for Haitian Immigrants

A federal judge on Monday blocked the Trump administration from revoking Temporary Protected Status (TPS) for more than 350,000 Haitian immigrants living in the United States, preventing their potential deportation to a...

Trump Spoke With FBI Agents After Georgia Election Office Search, Report Says

U.S. President Donald Trump spoke directly with FBI agents one day after they searched an election office in Fulton County, Georgia, according to a report published by the New York Times on Monday. The report cited three...

Trump Calls for “Nationalizing” Voting, Drawing Backlash Over Election Authority

President Donald Trump sparked controversy after saying Republicans should nationalize and take over voting in at least 15 unspecified locations, repeating his long-standing and false claims that U.S. elections are plagued...

Japan Finance Minister Defends PM Takaichi’s Remarks on Weak Yen Benefits

Japans Finance Minister Satsuki Katayama on Tuesday defended Prime Minister Sanae Takaichis recent comments emphasizing the potential benefits of a weaker yen, saying the remarks were grounded in standard economic theory...

Trump Announces U.S.–India Trade Deal Cutting Tariffs, Boosting Markets and Energy Ties

U.S. President Donald Trump announced a major U.S.India trade deal on Monday that significantly reduces U.S. tariffs on Indian goods to 18% from a previous combined rate of 50%. The agreement, revealed after a phone call...

Science

NASA and SpaceX Target Crew-11 Undocking From ISS Amid Medical Concern

NASA has confirmed that the agency, in coordination with SpaceX, is targeting no earlier than 5 p.m. Eastern Time (2200 GMT) on Wednesday, January 14, for the undocking of the SpaceX Crew-11 mission from the International...

Neuralink Plans High-Volume Brain Implant Production and Fully Automated Surgery by 2026

Elon Musks brain-computer interface company Neuralink is preparing for a major expansion, announcing plans to begin high-volume production of its brain implant devices and transition to a fully automated surgical procedure...

Jared Isaacman Confirmed as NASA Administrator, Becomes 15th Leader of U.S. Space Agency

The U.S. Senate has officially confirmed billionaire private astronaut Jared Isaacman as the new NASA administrator, making him the 15th leader in the agencys history. The confirmation, which took place on Wednesday, marks...

Senate Sets December 8 Vote on Trump’s NASA Nominee Jared Isaacman

The U.S. Senate Commerce Committee announced it will vote on December 8 on President Donald Trumps renewed nomination of private astronaut and tech entrepreneur Jared Isaacman to lead NASA. Isaacman, known for his...

NASA Cuts Boeing Starliner Missions as SpaceX Pulls Ahead

NASA has significantly scaled back Boeings Starliner program after years of technical issues and delays, announcing that the next Starliner mission to the International Space Station (ISS) will fly without astronauts. The...

Technology

Elon Musk’s SpaceX Acquires xAI in Historic Deal Uniting Space and Artificial Intelligence

Elon Musk announced on Monday that SpaceX has acquired his artificial intelligence startup xAI in a landmark deal that brings together his ambitions in space exploration and advanced AI technology. The acquisition combines...

Google Cloud and Liberty Global Forge Strategic AI Partnership to Transform European Telecom Services

Google Cloud, one of Alphabets fastest-growing divisions, has entered into a five-year strategic partnership with Liberty Global aimed at accelerating the adoption of artificial intelligence and cloud technologies across...

Palantir Stock Jumps After Strong Q4 Earnings Beat and Upbeat 2026 Revenue Forecast

Palantir Technologies Inc (NASDAQ: PLTR) delivered a strong fourth-quarter earnings report, beating Wall Street expectations on both revenue and profit while issuing a significantly stronger-than-expected outlook for 2026....

Sam Altman Reaffirms OpenAI’s Long-Term Commitment to NVIDIA Amid Chip Report

OpenAI CEO Sam Altman has publicly reaffirmed the artificial intelligence companys strong relationship with NVIDIA Corporation (NASDAQ: NVDA), pushing back against recent reports suggesting dissatisfaction with the...

SoftBank and Intel Partner to Develop Next-Generation Memory Chips for AI Data Centers

SoftBank Corp (TYO:9434) has announced a strategic collaboration between its subsidiary Saimemory and Intel Corporation (NASDAQ: INTC) to develop a new class of advanced memory chip technology aimed at powering the next...