Professor Melinda Soares-Furtado

Selected Research Highlights

HD 63433 d: a nearby young Earth-sized planetLearn more

My research with my former student Benjamin Capistrant led to the discovery of HD 63433 d, an Earth-sized planet orbiting a Sun-like star in the roughly 400-million-year-old Ursa Major moving group. Benjamin and I are equal-contribution lead authors on the discovery paper. Our study combined TESS transit measurements with stellar kinematics, rotation, and abundances to place this young world in its evolutionary context.

Read the discovery paper — THYME XI

TOI-4364 b: a young mini-Neptune in the HyadesLearn more

My group discovered and characterized TOI-4364 b in collaboration with the THYME team. My former student Adam Distler led the study. The study combines TESS and ground-based observations to establish a roughly two-Earth-radius planet around a young M dwarf. Its position near the radius valley makes it a valuable test of how planetary atmospheres evolve.

Read the discovery paper — THYME XII

Identifying the chemical traces of engulfed planetsLearn more

I led a study combining MESA stellar models with GALAH lithium measurements to predict when a swallowed giant planet could leave a detectable chemical signature. We mapped the strength and survival time of that signature across stellar evolution, identifying promising stars to target and regimes where other enrichment mechanisms are needed.

Read the lithium-engulfment study

Mentoring & Research Leadership

I received UW–Madison’s 2023 Postdoctoral Excellence in Mentoring Award. Students I have mentored or co-mentored have earned NSF Graduate Research Fellowships and NASA FINESST awards, led publications, and continued into graduate research and academic careers. Their contributions are central to our science. Meet the researchers and alumni.

As Director of the Peter Livingston Scholars Program, I help shape the program’s research vision, secure funding, and connect students with research mentors. Learn about my mentoring and outreach work.

Scientific Research

Below is a selection of ongoing research projects. Visit our Team page to learn about the talented researchers contributing to these investigations.

Stellar Age Determination & Gyrochronology

Accurate stellar ages are essential for understanding planetary system evolution. Our team develops novel age-dating techniques using stellar rotation (gyrochronology), lithium abundances, and ensemble approaches combining multiple age indicators. We apply machine learning and Bayesian methods to calibrate these techniques using benchmark stellar populations like the Ursa Major Moving Group.

The Earth is embedded within the Ursa Major system, making its members ideal laboratories for studying stellar and planetary evolution. Our recent work identified the closest young Earth-sized planet transiting a Sun-like star in this moving group.

Planetary Engulfment Events

A non-negligible fraction of planets meet their end by being engulfed by their host stars. We identify long-devoured planets through the chemical signatures they impart on stellar atmospheres—particularly lithium enhancement and refractory element enrichment. By quantifying these tracers, we constrain the bulk composition and mass of destroyed worlds.

Building on my lithium-engulfment modeling work, my group also investigates the engulfment process itself, probing the transfer of angular momentum, energy, and mass through hydrodynamical simulations and tidal modeling.

Detection & Characterization of Young Exoplanets

Despite 6,000+ confirmed exoplanets, the census of young worlds with well-constrained ages remains sparse. These systems offer critical insights into planet formation and atmospheric evolution. Our THYME collaboration discovered HD 63433 d, an Earth-sized planet in the roughly 400 Myr Ursa Major moving group, providing a nearby laboratory for young terrestrial-planet evolution.

Our discovery of TOI-4364 b, a young mini-Neptune on the upper edge of the radius valley orbiting a bright M dwarf in the Hyades cluster, provides constraints on how stellar age shapes planetary atmospheres and the emergence of the M dwarf radius valley.

The Search for Young Exomoons

The Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope's infrared capabilities will enable searches for transiting exosatellites in young star-forming regions. The Orion Nebula Cluster—extremely young (1–3 Myr) and densely populated with brown dwarfs and free-floating planets—presents an ideal target.

I co-authored the TEMPO survey design and yield study with Mary Anne Limbach and collaborators. Under its adopted population assumptions, a proposed 30-day Roman survey of the ONC could detect ~14 exomoons transiting free-floating planets and ~54 exosatellites transiting brown dwarfs; these forecasts remain highly uncertain. We continue exploring yields in other star-forming regions, including JWST observations of the Rosette Nebula.

Open Cluster Variable Star Investigations

Variable stars in stellar clusters probe fundamental astrophysical questions. Rotational variables reveal angular momentum evolution; pulsators illuminate relationships between stellar structure, activity, age, and mass; eclipsing binaries yield precise masses, radii, and ages that stringently test stellar evolutionary theory.

Our cluster surveys also enable searches for exoplanets among hosts with known ages and compositions—addressing whether planet occurrence rates and orbital architectures differ between cluster and field populations.

Our Research Group

Our group brings together researchers studying stellar ages, young planets, planetary engulfment, and stellar populations. Students lead projects that connect observations with computational models, including the planet discoveries highlighted above. Explore our team and alumni. Our research directions include:

Stellar age determination — developing machine learning approaches for gyrochronology and spectroscopic age indicators

Young exoplanet detection — searching for planets (and exomoons!) in stellar associations using TESS, JWST, and Roman

Planetary engulfment — modeling planetary engulfment and characterizing its impact on host-star properties

Stellar cluster science — variable star investigations and membership analysis

Current opportunities: My group is currently at capacity, and I am not actively recruiting new undergraduate or graduate students. Please check back for future openings.