About Me
I am a Schmidt AI in Science Postdoctoral Research Fellow in the Department of Astronomy & Astrophysics at the University of Toronto.
I am a full stack scientist who builds bridges between astronomy and data science. I develop new techniques to extract unbiased and maximum signal-to-noise measurements of stellar chemical and kinematic properties using spectroscopic and imaging data, often working with raw pixels. I harness these improved measurements to understand Local Group galaxy formation and evolution through the study of resolved stellar populations. I am particularly interested in using high-precision, cross-observatory stellar proper motions to constrain the Milky Way’s assembly history, Local Group dynamics, and the nature of dark matter.
In my free time, I enjoy reading science fiction, rock climbing, baking, playing video games, listening to podcasts, and hiking.
Education
PhD IN ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS
University of California, Santa Cruz | Santa Cruz, CA
Thesis Title: Measuring Astrophysical Parameters from Resolved Stellar Populations in the Milky Way
using Applied Statistics
Advisors: Connie Rockosi & Raja GuhaThakurta
Committee: Connie Rockosi, Raja GuhaThakurta,
Melissa Ness, Brant Robertson
BSc (HONOURS) IN PHYSICS AND MATHEMATICS
Queen’s University | Kingston, ON, Canada
Governor General’s Academic Silver Medal - awarded to the undergraduate with the highest academic standing in an honours bachelors degree
Research: Assessing Next Generation Virgo Survey photometry to measure diffuse light in stellar halos around Virgo Cluster galaxies.
Advisor: Stéphane Courteau
Additional Info
SELECTED PROFESSIONAL MEMBERSHIP
Physics-Informed Vision and Imaging Group | University of Toronto, ON
Astrostatistics Research Team (ART) | University of Toronto, ON
High-resolution Space Telescope Proper Motion Collaboration (HSTPROMO)
TEACHING ROLES
UCSC Teaching Assistant ASTR119: Introduction to Scientific Computing
UCSC Science Internship Program Mentor
UCSC Teaching Assistant ASTR118: Physics of Planetary Systems
UCSC Teaching Assistant ASTR1 - Intro to the Cosmos
UCSC Project Mentor ASTR9: Intro to Research