I am a postdoctoral researcher at the University of Louisville. I am working to understand the epoch or reionization by studying very high-redshift Lyman alpha emitters.
I recently completed my Ph.D. working with Dr. Caryl Gronwall at the Department of Astronomy & Astrophysics at Pennsylvania State University. I studied star-forming galaxies via their emission lines. My work spanned a very large redshift range, from the local universe to some of the first galaxies at z = 6. I was also a part of the Hobby Eberly Telescope Dark Energy Experiment (HETDEX) that will measure changes in the expansion rate of the universe using baryon acoustic oscillations. To read more about my work, click here!
I am also interested in science policy and communication. I have written for Astrobites – a website with daily paper summaries for non-experts as well as career advice, general astronomy knowledge, computing, etc. I have also participated in the American Astronomical Society’s Congressional Visits Day, where we spent time speaking with our congresspeople in Washington about the importance of science funding and infrastructure. I recommend anyone interested in science policy apply to participate in that endeavor.