2025 O’Donnell Award in Physical Sciences: Caitlin M. Casey, Ph.D.
World-renowned observational astrophysicist Caitlin M. Casey, Ph.D., Associate Professor at The University of Texas at Austin, is the recipient of the 2025 Edith and Peter O’Donnell Award in Physical Sciences from TAMEST. She was chosen for discovering the most distant and massive galaxies that have reshaped our understanding of early Universe star formation and supermassive black holes.
The observable Universe is estimated to be about 13.8 billion years old, and Dr. Casey and her team are trying to find uniquely massive galaxies from its first billion years. These galaxies are on the most extreme margins of what the Universe can produce. To do so, Dr. Casey leads the COSMOS-Web Survey, made up of an international team of hundreds of scientists with the aim of constructing the largest image of the distant Universe that has ever been created. COSMOS-Web was James Webb Space Telescope’s (JWST) largest public survey in its first year and exceeds the scale of the Hubble Space Telescope’s Ultra Deep Field by 200 times.
By finding such extreme sources from the most powerful telescopes in the world, Dr. Casey can test the fundamental laws of physics in the primordial Universe. The goal is to see how the first galaxies, the first stars and even the first black holes formed 13 billion years ago compared to those formed today. The JWST’s unique capabilities allows Dr. Casey’s team to see objects 100 times fainter than previous telescopes could see in infrared light and reach much farther back in time. By searching for the brightest beacons at the longest wavelengths, her team can find some of the earliest galaxies that seemingly outshine all others.
Such exceptionally bright galaxies test the limits of our cosmological model for how the Universe formed and changed with time. These galaxies, seen just a few hundred million years after the Big Bang, had to assemble over a very short period of time to shine so brightly. Her findings are unexpected because it implies there was extremely efficient star formation that isn’t seen in the Universe today. These discoveries have allowed scientists to hone their understanding of the early Universe. Dr. Casey’s goal with the COSMOS-Web project is to dig deeper and not just discover exceptionally bright galaxies, but also map out where they live in the large-scale structure of the cosmos.
“Using the best technology and telescopes in the world, Dr. Casey peers as far back in time as is possible to understand the emergence and characteristics of some of the earliest galaxies in the Universe,” said nominator David A. Vanden Bout, Ph.D., Dean of the College of Natural Sciences at The University of Texas at Austin. “With her groundbreaking work, she is reshaping what we know about the Universe and inspiring discoveries at our cosmic frontiers. Not only is she a fantastic and talented scientist, she also models how great science requires a lot of intentional mentoring and support of a team.”
Dr. Casey is one of five Texas-based researchers receiving the TAMEST 2025 Edith and Peter O’Donnell Awards. Recipients are chosen for their individual contributions addressing the essential role that science and technology play in society, and whose work meets the highest standards of exemplary professional performance, creativity and resourcefulness.
Dr. Casey will be recognized at the 2025 Edith and Peter O’Donnell Awards Ceremony on Wednesday, February 5, 2025, and will give a presentation on her research preceding the award ceremony at the TAMEST 2025 Annual Conference: Transformational Breakthroughs in Irving, Texas, at the Westin Irving Convention Center at Las Colinas.
The Edith and Peter O’Donnell Awards annually recognize rising star Texas researchers who are addressing the essential role that science and technology play in society, and whose work meets the highest standards of exemplary professional performance, creativity and resourcefulness.
Thanks to a $1.15 million gift from the O’Donnell Foundation in 2022, the O’Donnell Awards have expanded to include an additional science award. The awards now recognize recipients in the categories of Medicine, Engineering, Biological Sciences, Physical Sciences and Technology Innovation. (Previously, the TAMEST O’Donnell Awards rotated its science award between physical and biological sciences every year.)
The Edith and Peter O’Donnell Awards are made possible by the O’Donnell Awards Endowment, established in 2005 through the generous support of several individuals and organizations. View a full list of supporters here.
TAMEST was co-founded in 2004 by the Honorable Kay Bailey Hutchison and Nobel Laureates Michael S. Brown, M.D., and Richard E. Smalley, Ph.D. With more than 345 members, eight Nobel Laureates and 23 member institutions, TAMEST is composed of the Texas-based members of the three National Academies (National Academy of Medicine, National Academy of Engineering and National Academy of Sciences) and other honorific organizations. We bring together the state’s brightest minds in medicine, engineering, science and technology to foster collaboration, and to advance research, innovation and business in Texas.
TAMEST’s unique interdisciplinary model has become an effective recruitment tool for top research and development centers across Texas. Since our founding, more than 300 TAMEST members have been inducted into the National Academies or relocated to Texas.