Current Research:
My research focuses on the detection and dynamical stability of exoplanetary systems. The radial velocity method is one of the most effective techniques for detecting exoplanets. It works by measuring periodic Doppler shift of a star’s spectra produced by the reflex motion of a star caused by orbiting planets (see below).
Current instrumentation of radial velocity surveys can, in theory, find planets that cause their host star to move with radial velocities of 1 m/s or less. In practice, the variability of the star’s spectra (caused by things like star spots or pulsations) obscure true planet signals.
I have worked with Prof. Eric Ford on simulating realistic spectra datasets, modeling radial velocities and multiple activity indicators with multivariate Gaussian processes to jointly capture signals caused by planets and stellar activity (GitHub), and creating a data reduction pipeline for spectra that simultaneously models and separates the time-variable contributions from Earth’s atmosphere and the observed star (GitHub).
I also worked with Prof. Daniel Tamayo and Dr. Ari Silburt on using gradient-boosted decision trees to accelerate estimates for long-term planetary system stability and how to incorporate these methods into orbit characterization analyses.
Undergraduate Research:
I had the opportunity to work on several different areas while at Virginia Tech from dark matter annihilation in the galactic center with Prof. Shunsaku Horiuchi and Dr. Oscar Macias, to broad absorption line variability in quasars with Nahum Arav.
I was also able to get an internship through the SULI program (an excellent way to see what it’s like to work at a national laboratory) to do research on gamma-ray burst correlations and present that work as a poster at the 229th Meeting of the American Astronomical Society.