I am an NSF Astronomy & Astrophysics Postdoctoral Fellow at the University of Pennsylvania. My research aims to build our understanding of dark matter and the early Universe by studying Galactic dynamics and ancient stars. 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.
Galactic dynamics is a key tool for testing theories of dark matter. I am working towards making the best map of the Milky Way's dark matter distribution.
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.
Inferring Stellar Densities with Flexible Models I: The Distribution of RR Lyrae in the Milky Way with Gaia DR3
Cosmological predictions for minor axis stellar density profiles in the inner regions of Milky Way-mass galaxies
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.