Exploring the Stars - Profile Nina Noel De La Torre

Captivated by the wonders of astronomy, Nina Noel De La Torre hopes to utilize high performance computing to reveal its beauty. A second year Ph.D. student in the Computational Science, Engineering, and Mathematics (CSEM) program at the Oden Institute for Computational Engineering and Science. Nina’s research focuses on understanding the chemistry within star forming regions as well as developing high performance computing techniques to efficiently and effectively model these regions using ordinary differential equations (ODEs). 

Nina is advised by Stella Offner, associate professor of astronomy, Co-Director of the Center for Scientific Machine Learning, and Director of the NSF-Simons AI Institute for Cosmic Origins (CosmicAI). Launched in September 2024, CosmicAI is a research institute that aims to apply artificial intelligence to astronomical research to better understand the cosmos.

A native Texan, Nina earned her Bachelor of Science in Mathematics from the University of Texas at San Antonio in 2023, the same degree her father received in 1995. Her passion for mathematics led her to pursue graduate studies, and while she received offers from Ohio State University and the University of Notre Dame, she chose the Oden Institute at UT Austin. 

“Ultimately, this is the best school for me,” Nina said. “It is close to my family and I love the environment. I think the CSEM program is set up in a way that encourages collaboration among students.”

Recently, Nina participated in the 2025 Empower Your Pitch contest. The competition, open to all graduate students and postdoctoral scholars at UT Austin, challenges participants to effectively communicate their research topics in just three minutes. The contest consists of multiple rounds with participants receiving feedback after each round to refine and improve their presentations. 

“The competition is really good since they just want graduate students to improve their speech skills,” Nina said. “They emphasize that they want students to be able to give technical talks to non-technical audiences.”  

For her presentation, Nina spoke about her research on star formations. She showcased an image of a newly forming star captured by the James Webb Space Telescope and explained her work in modeling stellar creation through mathematical equations. Her talk was well received by both the audience and the judges, and she earned a spot as a finalist in the competition. 

Nina drew inspiration for her talk from the Oden Institute's in October 2024 Distinguished Lecture given by Nick Trefethen, professor of applied mathematics at Harvard University. Trefethen also held an informal discussion with graduate students. “He said that he was a mathematician and a philosopher, and after listening to his talk I realized that math talks can be beautiful and inspirational as well, and I really wanted to have the opportunity to share my research with others,” Nina said. 

Outside of her research, Nina enjoys crafting and watching reality television with her friends. She is looking forward to her upcoming summer internship at MathWorks near Boston. In addition, she is interested in learning more about physical simulation modeling, which has broad applications ranging from virtual reality to animated movies. While she is currently aiming for a career in industry after graduate school, she remains open to exploring other paths.

Reflecting on her first few years at the Oden Institute, Nina is excited about the friends she has made and the strong foundation she has built in interdisciplinary research and looks forward to applying these skills to new scientific challenges ahead.