León García is a rising first-year student at Stanford University, planning to study physics with a concentration in astrophysics. A recent graduate of Corvallis High School in Oregon, León is interested in high-energy astrophysics, gravitational wave astronomy, and dark matter modeling. He has been a member of the NANOGrav research group at Oregon State University for the past two years, and was previously involved in the Pulsar Science Collaboratory at West Virginia University.
Garcia has conducted independent research on ring galaxies, anomalous X-ray pulsars, short gamma-ray bursts, and ultralight dark matter.
Recognitions and Awards
León is a three-time finalist at the International Science and Engineering Fair, and received the First Place National Young Astronomer Award from the Astronomical League in 2023 for his research using the hypothetical particle of Axions to help solve the problem of dark matter.
Chuck Allen of the Astronomical League discusses the 2023 National Young Astronomer Award, and introduces León García for his talk about dark matter on the 125th Global Star Party.
Outreach
While in high school, León founded and led a Science Club to connect students with all the wonderful STEM resources that exist (e.g., local scientists, labs, summer programs, competitions), and help them explore different career paths in STEM. As part of this, he served as captain of the Science Bowl and Science Olympiad teams, arranged visits from local professors and scientists, and organized field trips to tour labs at Oregon State University.
