Ma GS '06 found dead in her home

Xiaoyan Ma GS '06 was found dead in her Princeton home on Leigh Avenue by her landlord Friday night. She was 23.

"[The case] is still under investigation, but there are no signs of foul play at this time," Township police detective-sergeant Ernie Silagyi said.

The landlord, whose name Silagyi declined to release, found Ma's body at 10:30 p.m. Friday and called the Township police. Though the officers could not determine the exact time of death, Silagyi estimated that Ma had been dead for several days before she was found.

The Mercer County Medical Examiner's office is still determining the cause of death, and officials declined to release any information regarding the case due to issues of confidentiality. Silagyi said results could come in "as soon as a couple of weeks, or it could take longer."

He added that though she appeared to be living alone, there may have been other tenants in the building.

Township police have contacted a family member of Ma's who lives outside the United States.

Associate Dean of the Graduate School Joy Montero sent an email to graduate students on Monday to notify them of Ma's death. "As a community we are deeply saddened by this loss," Montero said in the message. "We offer our support and sincere condolences to Xiaoyan's friends and family."

Ma, a citizen of the People's Republic of China, graduated from the University of Science and Technology in Beijing before coming to the United States. She earned her masters degree in astrophysics from Princeton in September 2006, specializing in the Program in Plasma Physics.

Plasma physics program director Nat Fisch sent an email on Monday to the program's students informing them of Ma's death. "She will be remembered for her unassuming style and for her tragically unrealized scientific promise," he said in the message.

University spokeswoman Cass Cliatt '96 said that, in cases of alumni deaths, Princeton sends out information to the student body when "there may be students on campus that knew the deceased very well, just to offer counseling and support services."

Zhu Mao GS, who roomed with Ma last spring in the Hibben-Magie Apartments near Faculty Road, said Ma had decided not to pursue a Ph.D.

"All of us feel really sad about [Ma's death]," Mao said in an email. "She was such a nice girl." Mao said she learned of Ma's death Sunday afternoon through mutual friends.

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Other graduate students expressed sadness for the loss of a friend they described as "quiet."

"Xiaoyan mostly kept to herself, but she did fine when it came time to pass tests," Sterling Smith GS said in an email.

"In general, she was a really kind and genuine person, and we're all really sad that she's gone," classmate Laura Berzak GS said, who learned of Ma's death in lab on Monday. "She had a really great smile, and she was really enjoyable to be in class with."

— Princetonian staff writer Andrew Chong contributed reporting to this article.