Astronomy

Overview

I was born and raised in North Carolina, where I studied drawing and photography at arts schools through the end of high school. I decided to change course and earned a B.Sc. in Physics from UNC Asheville. While at UNCA, I served as a Docent for Lookout Observatory, where I educated the public about space during monthly stargazes. I also participated in an internship at NASA Goddard with Dr. Joshua Schlieder where I detected exoplanets with the K2 mission. After graduating with my Bachelor’s, I spent some time in baking school while working at a local bakery. In my free time, I enjoy being outdoors, hiking, knitting, reading, painting, and baking.

By pursuing a PhD in Astronomy I hope to gain enough experience and knowledge so that I can effectively communicate science to the public. Ideally, I would also like to explore using art to improve science communication.

Education

• B.Sc., Physics with minors in Math and Astronomy, University of North Carolina Asheville, 2019

Research

Broadly speaking, I am interested in the detection and characterization of transiting exoplanets. For my first research project, I aim to search for asymmetrical transits in exoplanet light curves due to weather patterns in the exoplanet atmospheres. We hope to be able to see this effect on average for different planet populations! In the future, I may work to develop machine learning methods for detecting exoplanets

Areas of Study

• Exoplanets
• Astrobiology

Advisor: Jason Dittmann