CV | William Cerny

Yale University (New Haven, CT) 2022–Present

University of Chicago (Chicago, IL) 2018–2022

Graduated summa cum laude with B.Sc. in Astrophysics
Honors Thesis: A Guided Search for Ultra-Faint Dwarf Galaxy Satellites of the Milky Way Along RR Lyrae Sightlines; Advisor: Prof. Alex Drlica-Wagner

OSU/CCAPP Price Prize in Cosmology and Astroparticle Physics 2026
National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellow 2024–Present
Gruber Science Fellow 2022–Present
American Astronomical Society Chambliss Astronomy Achievement Student Award 2021
NASA/Illinois Space Grant Consortium Undergraduate Scholarship 2021

At Yale:

Co-Lead Instructor of Record, Yale Astro Research Preparation Series (Spring 2024, 2025, 2026)
Teaching Fellow: ASTR 155 (Fall 2022), ASTR 330 (Spring 2023), ASTR 255 (Fall 2023), ASTR 120 (Summer 2023, Spring 2024)
Observing Assistant, Yale Summer Program in Astrophysics (Summer 2025)

At UChicago:

Teaching Assistant: ASTR 205 (Fall 2020), ASTR 211 (Spring 2021), ASTR 11901 (Summer 2022)
Learning Assistant: ASTR 241 (Winter 2022)
Grader: ASTR/PHSC 127 (Fall 2021)
Course Assistant (VCA): MATH 152 (Fall 2019), MATH 153 (Winter 2020)

Public Observing and/or Event Telescope Assistant, Yale Leitner Family Observatory 2023–Present
- Across 40+ public observing nights and special events, I have operated the observatory’s telescopes for visitors, helping guests of all ages find targets at the eyepiece and offering context on what they are seeing.
Science Olympiad Astronomy Event Supervisor / Test Writer, Yale and/or UChicago 2019–Present
- Science Olympiad is a team competition for U.S. middle- and high-school students. I wrote, graded, and/or supervised the Astronomy events at tournaments hosted by Yale and/or UChicago for multiple consecutive years.