Interview by Rada Kaneva
Dr. Petia Yanchulova Merica-Jones has lived not just one extraordinary life, but several. A two-time Olympic athlete in beach volleyball (Sydney 2000, Athens 2004), she later pivoted to an entirely different frontier — astrophysics. Today, as a postdoctoral scholar at the Space Telescope Science Institute and a 2024–25 Fulbright U.S. Scholar to Bulgaria, Petia is building bridges between scientific communities, mentoring the next generation of astronomers, and continuing her own groundbreaking research on the interstellar medium. We caught up with her (here on earth) to talk about her remarkable journey — from sand courts to space dust.
You’ve competed in two Olympic Games in beach volleyball — Sydney 2000 and Athens 2004. What does it feel like to go from chasing medals on the beach to chasing galaxies in the sky?
There are surprising parallels between sports and science. While science is not a win-or-lose endeavor like sports, it takes commitment and focus, just like sports, and you get to lose yourself in the moment, doing what you love. For me the two overlapped, and it was an intense transition because while still competing, I had to try to shift focus to academics from sports in my down time. For example, while competing on the beach volleyball tour, I travelled with my textbooks, studying astronomy. Quite literally, while training at home in San Diego, I would often go straight to the classroom with sand still on my feet. I study interstellar dust, and interestingly, sand could really be seen as just a very large grain of space dust because both interstellar dust and sand grains are composed of silicates and carbon, while interstellar dust is a foundational element for both beach sand and stars in space. So from sand volleyball to interstellar dust was a very natural path to follow.
What sparked your transition from international relations and elite athletics to astrophysics? Was there a defining “aha!” moment?
I had a wonderful professor at the University of San Diego named Dr. Michael Stoddard who had been an advisor to several U.S. presidents. He made political science, the US presidency, and international relations seem really exciting, so much so that I thought I’d go into politics. At the same time in college I was a student-athlete in volleyball, and in my senior year my sister and I qualified to represent Bulgaria in the Olympics. This was the first „aha“ moment, where as a team we were greatly encouraged by the opportunity to compete at the highest level of our sport, having competed full-time for only a few months. Thus, we kept going for several years, and it was a very rewarding, though a demanding career. With time I realized I had a great interest in how the physical world worked, so I started studying physics and astrophysics. My second „aha!“ moment was while observing the beauty of the night sky through a telescope as a student and deciding to go as far as I could with astronomy.
You grew up in Bulgaria and have lived in the U.S. for nearly 30 years. How has this dual identity shaped your personal and professional journey?
The place we grow up in can define who we are as people, and I have always loved Bulgaria! When I left for college in the U.S. in the mid-90’s there seemed to be almost no hope for a smooth transition to democracy. In these 30 years, Bulgaria and its people have gone through big changes, and I am inspired by those who remained in the country and genuinely worked to build a better future. I have always wanted to participate in this process, and a Fulbright U.S. Scholar opportunity allows my professional pursuits, fueled by my personal desire to contribute, to come to fruition! Nowadays Bulgaria is vibrant, full of hope and possibility. The United States is built on hope and possibility, and being a part of this relatively young nation with its own triumphs and struggles has been eye-opening. I yearned to bring the knowledge and training I received in the U.S. to Bulgaria, to excite the next generation about the wonders of space. This culmination is truly enabled by the Fulbright opportunity!
You’ve been awarded observation time with the Hubble Space Telescope —can you tell us about the research you’re conducting and what excites you most about it?
Humankind has come really far in its exploration of the Universe, and space-based telescopes are revolutionizing our understanding of space, even of ideas and theories held not long ago. Telescopes like Hubble and Webb are currently doing this, while upcoming ones like Roman, SPHEREx, and the Habitable Worlds Observatory, will advance our understanding of dark energy, exoplanets, and the search for signs of life beyond Earth. I study space dust, and more specifically, interstellar dust, which is the material found between the stars. Two things excite me most about space dust – it is the matter which makes up almost everything we see in space, from galaxies to planets to people, so I enjoy this exploratory nature of the research. Sharing about this exploration with the public is equally exciting because people naturally wonder about the heavens, and so I get to help them keep wondering.
Your Fulbright project focuses on student recruitment and building international bridges in astronomy. What drives your passion for mentorship and science outreach?
I had professors who were excellent in passing on their passion for astronomy to others. These educators taught me the wonderful world of learning and teaching, enabling others to participate in exploration and discovery. My passion is driven by the human spirit – I delight in seeing faces light up and minds get excited and inquisitive about how the Universe works. I have engaged with people through citizen-science projects for the general population, through discussions in the pre-kindergarten to the high-school student classroom, or conversations in homes for people with special needs. They and I get to discover together, because even six-year-olds can have very insightful questions, while those who perceive the world slightly differently from the mainstream can possess beautiful ways to appreciate the Universe. At the same time, it is very rewarding to dive more deeply into the research side where I mentor students on their astronomy theses and lead workshops in astronomy summer schools.
You’ve taught astronomy at both college and community college levels. What’s your favorite topic to teach — and how do your students usually react when you talk about black holes?
Black holes are absolutely fascinating because they are real, yet the physics about them is very hard to imagine! So it is not surprising that I do get a lot of questions about them. Students love the concept of “spaghettification” – first because they like spaghetti, and second because they love the idea that if you fall into a black hole, since gravity at the feet is stronger than gravity at the head, you eventually gets stretched into a spaghetti-shape. My favorite topic to teach may indeed be general relativity, which is partially responsible for this effect, and also for the stretching and squeezing of space and time near massive objects. I also like to teach about dust, space dust.
Your research deals with the interstellar medium and dust in galaxies. For the non-astronomers out there, what’s one surprising or poetic thing we should know about space dust?
Space dust is something of a mystery – it makes the cosmos beautiful, but it also hides much of it. It creates glowing nebulae and the soft radiance of the Milky Way, but it also blocks what we can see with standard telescopes. This is where the James Webb Space Telescope comes in. It “sees” in the infrared, allowing it to peer through the dust and reveal hidden stars, baby planets, and distant galaxies. It’s like having night vision goggles for the universe. The discoveries are astounding – stars being born in dense clouds of dust, planets forming from rings around stars, galaxies whose light has traveled to us for more than 13 billion years. Without dust, there would be nothing to discover. But without the right instruments, we wouldn’t even know we were missing something. So space dust hides and reveals – sometimes at the same time. It is one of the most poetic substances in the whole universe!
You’ve been deeply involved with Sofia University and Bulgaria’s science initiatives. What gives you hope about the future of science and education in Bulgaria? What advice would you give to young people — especially girls — who feel torn between artistic, athletic, and scientific dreams?
My advice to young people, both girls and boys is: follow your dreams, do what you love, connect with people who can support your dreams, and try a small project in the field you are intrigued by. It can be anything – fix a car, build a boat, look through a telescope, write a short story, compete with a teammate, learn a new music piece and perform it for your friends. With time you will find out what your path is, keep going and don’t give up.
Bulgaria has deep traditions in science, with world-class research currently conducted in a number of fields led by Bulgarian scientists. So Bulgaria has a solid foundation, but one of the challenges is to create a steady supply of young scientists, and this starts with showing young people that there is reliable infrastructure for education and a career in science. It is encouraging to see many people engage in a number of initiatives which provide opportunities to students and the public to engage in science. There are also initiatives for career opportunities for young scientists, so is clear Bulgaria is generating momentum to establish itself as an important science and technology center in Europe.
Finally, when you look up at the night sky today, what do you think about?
The night sky is so wonderfully conducive to contemplation! A verse from Psalm 19 in the Bible comes to mind: “The Heavens declare the glory of God… They have no speech, they use no words; no sound is heard from them. Yet their voice goes out into all the earth, their words to the ends of the world.” I think about how ancient people have stared at this very same night sky and have wondered just like us about the heavens. We have an infinite playground in the night sky, and it is humbling that we get to benefit from millennia of work resulting in the instruments and knowledge with which humanity continues to explore the cosmos. And we get to add to this knowledge to explore this beautiful, complex and mysterious world!