is an NSF Astronomy and Astrophysics Postdoctoral Fellow at the University of Texas at Austin.
I completed my PhD in Astronomy and Astrophysics at the University of Michigan - Ann Arbor in 2023. My research expertise focuses on star, brown dwarf, and planet formation concentrating on the fundamental limit of the fragmentation process, stellar and sub-stellar multiplicity, and advanced imaging techniques such as long-baseline interferometry and wavefront sensing informed high contrast imaging. I am a member of the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) NIRCam and NIRISS science teams, and lead several Hubble Space Telescope (HST), JWST, Keck, Gemini, and CHARA programs to explore free floating planets, the low-mass limit of the star formation process, and stellar and sub-stellar multiplicity. I am a research mentor and supervisor for several undergraduate students working on HST and JWST data. Outside of my research capacity, I teach astronomy based courses through Lifelong Learning with Friends, a non-profit organization providing post-secondary education for adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities.
Stars, brown dwarfs, and planetary mass objects form through the fragmentation of turbulent molecular clouds. This process is limited by a pre-stellar core becoming opaque to its own colling emission, i.e. the opacity limit. Using the James Webb Space Telescope, I am working to characterize the opacity limit and shape of the initial mass function down to Jupiter mass scales.
Multiplicity, two or more objects gravitationally bound, is a common outcome of turbulent fragmentation. I lead several programs with JWST, HST, Keck, Gemini, and the CHARA Array to characterize stellar multiplicity in star-forming regions and the Galactic field. My work attempts to understand the Galactic field population by determining how various star-forming environments impact the multiplicity of their populations and thus its contribution to the Galactic field.
Multiple systems can theoretically form all the way down to the opacity limit of fragmentation. I lead several programs with JWST and HST to describe brown dwarf multiplicity in star-forming regions and the Galactic field. This work led to the discovery of the only two known Y-dwarf binaries using JWST.
I am working on advanced imaging techniques to more efficiently search for exoplanets using wavefront sensing measurements and synthetic PSFs on JWST. I am also working on novel techniques to analyze complex imaging data with saturated PSFs to search for exoplanets using HST and JWST.
Most of my work is designed to result in a statistical description of a population, e.g. companion frequency or gas giant occurrence rates. I have designed a Bayesian demographic analysis to perform this work, and my results point to important aspects of star and planet formation theory.
My above work can only be accomplished through thorough analysis of observational data. I have designed a double empirical point-spread function fitting code to identify companions on sub-diffraction limited scales with HST and JWST. I also work with aperture masking interferometry data on both Keck and JWST to search for companions at sub-diffraction limit scales. I lead a long-baseline interferometry program probing very close separations of nearby A-type stars.
The first identification of a turnover in the initial mass function within a stellar population, NGC 2024. See link for NASA Press Release.
Detection of the second Y-Y dwarf binary system ever, WISE1935-1546, using JWST/MIRI probing the lowest mass binaries in the Galaxy. See link for paper.
Resolving companions below the diffraction limit with HST WFC3/IR. See link for paper.
For inquiries about collaborations, details about my research and outreach, or general questions, please reach out to me through email.