Physics Ph.D. Alumna Snigdaa Sethuram Receives Margaret Butler Fellowship in Computational Science

July 8, 2025

Snigdaa Sethuram (Ph.D. PHYS 2025) has been named the Margaret Butler Fellow in Computational Science at the Argonne Leadership Computing Facility (ALCF). The fellowship supports early-career scientists and honors Margaret Butler, a pioneer in computational science and nuclear energy. 

“This fellowship feels like the perfect launchpad: a place to grow my technical toolkit, collaborate across fields, and turn research into real-world impact — all while honoring Margaret Butler’s legacy of innovation and mentorship," Sethuram says.  

A computational astrophysicist, Sethuram specializes in the development of machine learning models to accelerate simulations of cosmic phenomena. She completed her graduate studies as a NASA FINESST Fellow in Physics Professor John Wise’s computational cosmology group.

In a recent interview published by ALCF, Sethuram discusses how she uses machine learning to study the early universe, the mentors who inspired her journey, and her goal of developing scalable tools that benefit the wider scientific community.

Read the article: "Accelerating Astrophysics with AI: A Q&A with Snigdaa Sethuram"