Michael Fausnaugh, an assistant professor of physics and astronomy, was part of a select few in determining the course of action for NASA’s latest milestone effort.

As NASA takes a new approach to its next flagship project, consulting the broad astrophysics community to determine upcoming observational strategies, hints of scarlet and black were present. 

Michael Fausnaugh, an assistant professor in Texas Tech University’s Department of Physics & Astronomy, was one of only 35 researchers to serve on NASA’s three Core Community Survey (CCS) Definition Committees for the Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope. The Roman Observatory is the successor to the Hubble and James Webb Space Telescopes and billed as a next-generation project that will aid understanding of the universe’s evolution, eventual fate and other queries.

Placed nearly a million miles away from the Earth, opposite the sun, the Roman will improve on the Hubble by providing researchers a better understanding of data through more detail and stability. 

Fausnaugh called being involved in such an undertaking and working among a relatively small group to progress the project a privilege. The Roman also represents a change in NASA’s methodology.

The concept for the telescope was first proposed in 2010, with the designs and hardware mostly finalized. But as the Goddard Space Flight Center’s intention was for the instrument to conduct far-reaching surveys, leaders knew Roman couldn’t be directed to focus on one object at a time like its predecessors, Fausnaugh said.

Thus, sweeping community engagement would be needed to gauge the full scope and impact of potential astrophysical investigations. 

The release of the CCSs’ final recommendations marks a major step prior to the Roman’s projected launch in late 2026. NASA started by inviting submissions of short science pitches and white papers in early 2023, then soliciting self-nominations in August 2023 to serve on the Galactic Bulge Time-Domain Survey, the High Latitude Time-Domain Survey (HLTDS) and the High Latitude Wide-Area Survey committees.

Fausnaugh submitted his nomination just as he began his time teaching at Texas Tech.

His work on the High Latitude Time-Domain Survey committee, which occurred throughout 2024, followed his research into supermassive black holes and supernovae and how those subjects evolve throughout the history of the universe. 

In addition to Roman’s focus on probing dark matter, its observations of black holes will provide insight into how galaxies form and evolve, while looking at supernovae in distant settings at a time when they have not been observed before. Simply put, astronomers will use Roman to reveal the universe’s history.

“It’s this unique way of doing the observations,” Fausnaugh said of time-domain astronomy.

“I think it’s an opportunity for finding new science cases, and oftentimes, it’s those observations that drive the science forward when we find new, weird stuff.”

As part of the HLTDS committee, he assessed the white papers NASA solicited to determine whether the ideas presented were feasible, which ideas specifically focused on supernovae, and what would yield extra data that would be helpful to the survey.

After compiling a list of topics to pursue, the committee held discussions and ran simulations meant to adjudicate priorities and a schedule of where to point the telescope before making final recommendations. 

The Roman Observations Time Allocation Committee was then formed to advise on the implementation of each CCS, suggesting in April 2025 the HLTDS be allocated over 4,000 hours of telescope time to measure the universe’s expansion history.

Fausnaugh has already begun sharing this experience with local students, by working with a Texas Tech postdoctoral researcher on black hole science and with a local high school student on cataloguing active galaxies, or galaxies that emit vastly more energy than normal.

He also anticipates having more Roman projects for undergraduate students in the upcoming fall semester, with his connection to a NASA project that’s on the cutting edge of new technology as a useful recruiting tool. 

“I think the students like seeing that process and thinking about what the different technological trade-offs are and what applying physical principles like building a telescope looks like in the real world,” Fausnaugh said. “That’s one of the great things about Texas Tech students; they really want to know how things work and how these technologies function.”