Dr. Eliot Halley Vrijmoet

   VRY-MOOT   (he/him)

Education/Research Postdoc Fellow
of the Five College Astronomy Department

Department of Astronomy
Smith College
Northampton, MA 01063

Office: McConnell 410A at Smith
     (LGRT 680 at UMass)

E-mail: evrijmoet@smith.edu      @eliothalley

Bio

I grew up in western Oregon in a tight-knit, DIY-focused family. At our house, there were constantly projects underway. It was always chaotic and always encouraging.

At Reed College I made friends and learned how to do physics --- or be a physics student, anyway. The freshman Hum 110 curriculum was still the classic one that began with the Iliad and progressed through Greek and later European literature. I appreciated it, but not nearly as much as if I took it again today.

Reed physics covered very little astronomy, but what did come up was enough to grab my attention. Astro has so many good stories embedded in it, and honestly my favorite part of physics is when it is happening in space.

After graduating, I spent a year working, then two years in San Diego doing graduate coursework and research intended toward a master's degree. I moved from SD to Atlanta when I got the opportunity to begin PhD studies at Georgia State.

I came out as transgender in 2013, during my last Reed semester. I have resolved to be as "out" as possible ever since. The academic road is rocky, but it does (seemingly magically) get a little smoother when you know a few people who share your struggles. Being out thus seems like the least I could do to help other underrepresented individuals in our field stay engaged and keep doing good science.

I try to stay in touch with other trans* people in astronomy, and am willing to help others make those connections as well. Please, I invite you to e-mail me (really!).

In my free time I'm usually drinking coffee, woodworking, playing/singing/listening to folk music, and being outside as much as possible. I also enjoy cooking with my husband and trying to communicate with Eleanor Roosevelt, our cat. In mid-2025 we welcomed our daughter Florence (I did the growing), who has added a wonderous new dimension to our world.