About Me

I'm an Astrophysics PhD student in ASU's School of Earth and Space Exploration. I'm a native Texan and earned my BS in astrophysics from the University of Texas in 2020. In my spare time, I love to bake or read. I also enjoy hiking and playing strategy games. I am also passionate about astronomy education and outreach and am a member of the SESE Astronomy Education Research Group.

My research focuses on ground-based characterization of exoplanets at high spectral resolution, and my work involves both the analysis of observational data and constructing atmospheric models. From data, I use Bayesian statistical methods called retrievals to place robust constraints on the properties of exoplanets, such as molecular abundances and thermal structure. My theoretical work incorporates 3D atmospheric effects into 1D analytic models that can be used in retrievals with high computational efficiency. I am currently focused on short period gaseous planets called "hot Jupiters", but I have experience modeling the atmospheres of rocky planets as well. My research requires a broad skillset including radiative transfer, thermodynamics, statistics, and high performance computing.

I have several past and ongoing projects and interests:

Click "more" to get an in depth look at each

My Research

Exoplanets at high spectral resolution

Most exoplanet observations are taken with low spectral resolution space-based observatories to avoid telluric contamination (absorption from the Earth's atmosphere). An emerging method for high resolution ground-based exoplanet characterization is high resolution cross correlation spectroscopy (HRCCS). Using HRCCS, we can use a planet's time resolved Doppler shift to separate its signal from telluric features, enabling robust measurements of the planet's atmosphere.

M-dwarf planets with JWST

M-dwarfs are the most common type of star in the local galaxy, and due to their low temperatures and mass, it's easier to find exoplanets around them. However, habitability around these stars is uncertain due to frequent flares and high stellar winds, which could blow away a potential atmosphere. Rocky planets around M-dwarfs will be the subject of many studies with the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST), but its important to know just how capable JWST really is for observing small planets.

Citizen science in the classroom

Citizen science allows non-professional scientists to classify large datasets that would otherwise be impossible for a small team of scientists to analyze alone. Incorporating citizen science activities in the classroom can help students learn more about the scientific method and realize that even people without scientific backgrounds can meaningfully contribute to our undertanding of the universe. With these kinds of activities integrated into classroom lessons, we can also address barriers to participation in STEM for non majority groups.

Resources

Check out my "Resources" page for a list of great webpages for early career astronomers. I also have a beginning Python tutorial on my github page and occasionally post Python tutorials on my blog, with more on the way!