Unexpected Discoveries in Space

Spectroscopy sat down with Gabi Wenzel, a visiting scientist at the Center for Astrophysics, Harvard & Smithsonian, to explore some of the unexpected discoveries she's made while studying the molecular makeup of space.

Wenzel is an experimental physicist specializing in astrochemistry and molecular spectroscopy. She earned her PhD in laboratory astrophysics from the Institute for Astrophysics and Planetology Research (IRAP) in Toulouse, France, where she investigated the interactions between cosmic polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) and ultraviolet and infrared light—providing insight into their relaxation mechanisms in the gas phase. Her research bridges laboratory experimentation and astronomical observation to advance our understanding of the universe’s molecular complexity.

Currently, Wenzel conducts research in both the McGuire Group at MIT and the McCarthy Group at the Center for Astrophysics, focusing on the rotational spectroscopy of PAHs. At MIT, she developed a compact chirped-pulse Fourier transform microwave (CP-FTMW) spectrometer for broadband molecular studies. She also employs high-resolution cavity-enhanced FTMW spectroscopy at the CfA to complement and refine these measurements.