Overview
I am originally from the Chicago suburbs (go Cubs!). I earned my Bachelor’s degree in Astronomy from the University of Arizona in 2010. I earned my PhD from Harvard University in 2016 where I worked with Dave Charbonneau on the ground based MEarth exoplanet survey, developing machine learning techniques to discover transiting planets. I was a 51 Pegasi b Postdoctoral Fellow at MIT from 2017-2021 and a Postdoctoral Researcher at the MPIA in 2021 in Heidelberg before joining the University of Florida as a faculty member.
Educational Background
- Ph.D, Harvard, 2016
- B.Sc., U. Arizona, 2010
Research
I am interested in observational data-driven studies of exoplanets, the constituents of their atmospheres, and how they form. My research is driven by the application of AI and machine learning techniques on the space-based missions focused on exoplanets (primarily Kepler and TESS) as well as high-resolution ground-based studies of atmospheres. We now know of thousands of exoplanets around nearby stars, but discovering the most unique and accessible planets for further study requires an intensive search through datasets that have taken years to collect for what is ultimately a small signal. AI techniques are well-poised to find the smaller planets on wider orbits that we know must exist in these data. Additionally, I am interested in the dynamics of these planets atmospheres, and how changing irradiation levels due to planets’ orbits or stellar variability can drive observable signals in space-based data.