Hayley West

I am a Physics PhD student at the University of Iowa studying plasma physics with Dr. Greg Howes. I completed my master’s degree from the University of Texas – San Antonio where I was advised by Dr. Richard Anantua for my thesis on emission modeling of M87’s supermassive black hole through the use of general relativistic magnetohydrodynamic (GRMHD) simulations to connect to observable signatures. As of 2025, I am also a member of the Event Horizon Telescope Collaboration. My research sits at the intersection of plasma turbulence and accretion disk physics, from the kinetic-scale interactions of particles in turbulent plasma to the large-scale dynamics shaping black hole accretion. I have computational experience with both GRMHD and particle-in-cell simulations to understand plasma interactions at all scales.