Financial Times Magazine named Physics Assistant Professor Carla Frhlich as a rising physics star late last year.

The recognition comes from her 2007 discovery of the neutrino p-process and her receipt of the 2013 Early Career Research Award given by the Department of Energy, according to the magazine. This award provides Frhlich with $750,000 over the course of five years to continue her research in nuclear astrophysics, Frhlich said.

The neutrino p-process that Frhlich discovered explains how supernovae, or exploding stars, synthesize heavier elements on the periodic table, she said. The discovery resulted from her Ph.d. project at the University of Basel in Switzerland, where she graduated in 2007.

Elements heavier than iron have a lot of open questions in regards to how and where they are synthesized, Frhlich said. Researchers like Frhlich study chemical elements formed in stars and their explosions in order to better understand where these heavier elements originate.

Because supernovae are dying, massive stars, they produce a lot of fundamental subatomic particles known as neutrinos, Frhlich said. Though neutrinos have no charge, they can engage in nuclear reactions to form heavier elements in combination with the stars abundance of protons. This is catalyzed by the stars high temperatures and densities.

During an explosion, these elements blast into space and can be used to form new stars and galaxies, Frhlich said.

Before Frhlichs research it was believed neutrons outnumbered the protons in supernovae, according to Frhlich.

Frhlich said that in her research grant application she wrote about her desire to learn more about the details of the neutrino p-process as well as how other elements are made. She also wants to study stars in other phases of their life.

Ultimately she aims to solve the remaining questions of where and how elements form through a collaborative approach between the areas of nuclear physics, observational astronomy and astrophysics, which uses computer simulations, Frhlich said.

My approach combines accomplishments in all of these fields to answer where and how the chemical elements were made, Frhlich said.

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Astrophyicist Carla Fröhlich recognized as rising star