About me

Hi, I’m Qiaoya Wu (吴巧雅, “Woo, Chow-Yah”), a fourth-year PhD student in the Department of Astronomy at the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign, working with Prof. Yue Shen. My research focuses on active galactic nuclei (AGNs) and quasars, especially their multi-wavelength observations, spectral surveys, and photoionization models. I am passionate about understanding the vicinity of supermassive black holes and their statistical properties across redshift.

📄 View CV

🔗 ADS link

Education

• 2017-2021: B.Sc. in Astronomy, Xiamen University, China
• 2021-present: Graduate student in Astronomy, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

Beyond academia, I enjoy badminton, board games, and spending quality time with my beloved cat, Nova.

Fun Facts

• Owner of more than a dozen board games (some of them require at least an hour just to explain the rules!).
• Have survived dozens of earthquakes (I’m from Sichuan, where the frequency of earthquakes is relatively high).
• Spent 12 years learning sketching, only to realize I might not be the next Van Gogh—but I still enjoy it!
• Watched and rated more than 1,100 movies and/or shows.

(Updated on Feb, 2025)