I am an NSF Astronomy & Astrophysics Postdoctoral Fellow at the University of Pennsylvania. My research aims to build our understanding of the early Universe by studying the ancient stars in our Galaxy, the Milky Way. Specifically, I am interested in characterizing the inner regions of the Milky Way, and its oldest stars.
CV Publications (Link to ADS)These are the main tools I use to constrain the early Universe.
I use stellar spectroscopy to study nucleosynthesis in the early universe by measuring the chemical composition of ancient stars.
To get a complete understanding of the origins of ancient stars, I use Galactic dynamics to study how the inner Galaxy formed, including the Galactic Bar.
My research relies heavily on large astronomy surveys (e.g., Gaia and SDSS) and I frequently use machine learning techniques to push the frontier of what these data can do.
Click on the links below to access the manuscripts.
Carbon-Enhanced Metal-Poor star candidates from BP/RP Spectra in Gaia DR3
Dynamically constraining the length of the Milky Way bar
The COMBS survey III: The Chemodynamical Origins of Metal-Poor Bulge Stars
The COMBS survey II: Distinguishing the Metal-Poor Bulge from the Halo Interlopers
From the Inner to Outer Milky Way: A Photometric Sample of 2.6 Million Red Clump Stars
The COMBS survey I: Chemical Origins of Metal-Poor Stars in the Galactic Bulge
In addition to the acitivities listed below, I love mentoring students in research and giving public talks. During grad school, I helped organize the Astronomy on Tap event in Austin and now love to speak at other chapter's events.
I co-teach an introductory undergratuate-level astronomy class at New Jersey prisons.
My work on Carbon-Enhanced Metal-Poor stars was featured in this WIRED article about Gaia DR3.
My dissertation was summarized for the public in this Forbes article.