Beatriz Villarroel

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Beatriz Villarroel (born c. 1980s) is a Swedish astronomer and assistant professor of astrophysics at the Nordic Institute for Theoretical Physics (Nordita) in Stockholm. She is known for her research on vanishing stars, active galactic nuclei, and optical searches for extraterrestrial intelligence (SETI), particularly through her leadership of the Vanishing & Appearing Sources during a Century of Observations (VASCO) project.

Early life and education

Villarroel was born and raised in Sweden and is of Swedish nationality. Her family background reflects a complex international history: her mother was born in Moscow, while her maternal grandfather was born in Asturias, near Oviedo, and was sent alone to the Soviet Union as a child during the Spanish Civil War, along with thousands of other Spanish children. Her father was a Chilean exchange student at a Soviet university when he met her mother. The family had planned to move to Chile, but the military coup there forced them to remain in Sweden instead. Villarroel has stated that this family history of exile and crossing cultures has shaped her defense of personal freedom and freedom of thought in her scientific work.

Villarroel holds a PhD in astronomy from Uppsala University (2017), with a thesis titled "Active Galactic Nuclei in galaxy surveys: empirical paths to the fiery hearts of cosmic beasts," and a Master's degree in physics from Uppsala University (2012). After completing her PhD, she undertook her first postdoctoral research position at ETH Zurich in Switzerland.

Career

Villarroel currently serves as an assistant professor of astrophysics at the Nordic Institute for Theoretical Physics, Stockholm University. Her research interests include the Vanishing & Appearing Sources during a Century of Observations project (VASCO), the structure and coevolution of active galactic nuclei (AGN) and their host galaxies, and optical searches for extraterrestrial intelligence (SETI). She has developed statistical methodologies for identifying potential non-terrestrial artifacts in pre-satellite era astronomical images. She is the principal investigator for the ExoProbe project, which aims to search for extraterrestrial artifacts and probes in Earth's vicinity.

Research

VASCO Project

Villarroel leads the Vanishing & Appearing Sources during a Century of Observations (VASCO) project, which aims to identify astronomical objects that have disappeared from the present-day sky by comparing historical photographic plates with modern observations. The project has developed into a citizen science initiative where people can help search for vanishing objects in images from Palomar Observatory and Pan-STARRS, with particular engagement from schools and amateur astronomical societies in countries such as Nigeria and Algeria.

Notable discoveries

In 2021, Villarroel and her team published research on nine stars that appeared in a Palomar image on April 12, 1950, and vanished within the 50-minute exposure time. The research, published in Scientific Reports, explored the possibility that these transients could represent non-human or extraterrestrial satellites in orbit around Earth seven years before Sputnik 1. The paper became the 6th most read physics paper in Scientific Reports during 2021.

The team later discovered a triple transient where three stars appear and vanish within 50 minutes of exposure time, which was published in the Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society (MNRAS). It was only after discovering these transients through systematic astronomical analysis that a colleague pointed out the dates coincided with famous UFO sightings over Washington, D.C. The triple transient occurred on July 19, 1952, and another statistically significant candidate was found from July 27, 1952—both dates corresponding to consecutive weekends during the most famous UFO sightings of the 20th century over Washington.

Current projects

She is the principal investigator for the ExoProbe project, which aims to search for extraterrestrial artifacts and probes in Earth's vicinity. She also participates in the international Galileo Project, led by Harvard astronomer Avi Loeb, which uses telescopes and radar to search for signs of extraterrestrial activity and technology near Earth.

Awards and recognition

In 2012, Villarroel received a Crafoord scholarship for young astronomers from the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences for her research on quasars.

In 2021, she won the L'Oréal-UNESCO For Women in Science prize in Sweden for the VASCO project. In 2022, she became the first Swede to win the L'Oréal-UNESCO For Women in Science "International Rising Talents" award, where the top 15 female early-career scientists are selected among more than 250 national and regional prize winners globally.

Villarroel was recognized with the Heterodox Academy 2023 Courage Award "for the person who has demonstrated consistent courage in pursuing truth, and embodies bravery in championing the principles of open inquiry, viewpoint diversity, and constructive disagreement in the academy despite social and professional costs".

In April 2024, she was selected as the Mitchell Lecturer at the Texas A&M University Physics Festival, delivering a prize lecture titled "Vanishing Stars and the Hunt for Extraterrestrial Artifacts."

She has received multiple research grants, including a 3.15 million SEK postdoctoral fellowship from Vetenskapsrådet (Swedish Research Council) in 2017, and a 4.4 million SEK starting grant for her project "Detection of Fast Transients on Subsecond-Minute Time Scales," which aims to search for short-lived transients and investigate potential signs of extraterrestrial artifacts near Earth. She has also received grants from the Märta and Erik Holmberg Foundation (2013, 2014, 2020).

Public engagement

In June 2023, Villarroel gave a TEDx talk in Zurich titled "Why we should look for alien artifacts," in which she argued that after decades of searching for extraterrestrial life through traditional methods like radio signals, humanity may be looking for the wrong signs and should instead focus on tangible artifacts rather than distant signals. In November 2023, she gave an invited talk at the Sol Foundation's inaugural meeting at Stanford University, where she delivered a presentation on her two major projects, VASCO and EXOPROBE, showcasing new and innovative approaches to UAP research that represent the implementation of cutting-edge methodologies in the search for extraterrestrial artifacts. She has been active in promoting citizen science through the VASCO project and engaging with educational institutions worldwide.

Controversies

Villarroel has faced professional challenges related to her scientific collaboration with astronomer Geoffrey Marcy, who was expelled from the National Academy of Sciences in 2021 following sexual harassment allegations from 2015. Despite Marcy's contributions to her research on vanishing stars, Villarroel experienced social media attacks, rejection from conferences, and institutional pressure to end the collaboration.

She was accused of "participating in rape culture" on social media and had her presentation rejected from a Penn State workshop. The SETI Institute also informed her that to maintain affiliation, she would need to end her collaboration with Marcy, which she refused to do on grounds of academic freedom and human rights.

These experiences led to stress-related health issues requiring emergency medical treatment and ultimately resulted in her departure from traditional SETI community activities. The International Astronomical Union (IAU) subsequently updated its code of conduct to address harassment and discrimination issues following complaints about the treatment she received.

Selected publications

• Villarroel, Beatriz (2020). "Examining supernova events in Type 1 active galactic nuclei". Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society. 495 (4): 4419–4429. doi:10.1093/mnras/staa1329.
• Villarroel, B. (2021). "Exploring nine simultaneously occurring transients on April 12th 1950". Scientific Reports. 11 (1). arXiv:2106.11780. Bibcode:2021NatSR..1112794V. doi:10.1038/s41598-021-92162-7. PMC 8211679 . PMID 34140604 .
• Villarroel, Beatriz (2022). "A glint in the eye: Photographic plate archive searches for non-terrestrial artefacts". Acta Astronautica. 194: 106–113. arXiv:2110.15217. Bibcode:2022AcAau.194..106V. doi:10.1016/j.actaastro.2022.01.039.
• Villarroel, Beatriz (2022). "Launching the VASCO Citizen Science Project". Universe. 8 (11): 561. arXiv:2009.10813. Bibcode:2022Univ....8..561V. doi:10.3390/universe8110561.
• Solano, E. (2024). "A bright triple transient that vanished within 50 min". Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society. 527 (3): 6312–6320. doi:10.1093/mnras/stad3422.
• Villarroel, B. (2022). "Aligned multiple-transient events in the First Palomar Sky Survey".

External links

• Personal website
• VASCO Project
• Nordic Institute for Theoretical Physics profile
• Google Scholar profile
• TEDx talk: "Why we should look for alien artifacts"

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