Career

I am a first year graduate student at the Ohio State University.

In the two years prior to becoming a grad student, I was an astronomer and research assistant at the Ohio State University. I worked on the data reduction and analysis of data obtained as part of the search for failed supernovae with the Large Binocular Telescope (LBT). Failed supernovae are events in which a massive star undergoes core collapse at the end of its life without an accompanying supernova explosion, collapsing directly to a black hole. It is thought that some small fraction of core collapses result in failed supernovae. The survey currently has one promising failed supernova candidate, N6946-BH1. The star has not reappeared in optical LBT data after vanishing nearly a decade ago and other explanations for the fate of this star have so far proven unsatisfactory.

Part of my work was to analyze new LBT, HST, and SST images of this candidate to help determine its fate. To aid in the search of additional candidates, I have also identified variable stars in M81 and NGC 6946. These variables are interesting objects on their own merit (for example, Cepheid variables are useful for calculating cosmic distances), but they are also useful to the survey to flag false positives when searching for new failed supernova candidates.

In addition, as part of the ASAS-SN team, my responsibilities included examining the image quality daily for thousands of images and assisting in the naming/releasing of discovered transients (such as supernovae and cataclysmic variables).

I am currently searching for my first year project as a grad student.

Personal

I graduated with honors from Ohio State in Spring 2018 with a major in Astronomy and Astrophysics. My parents are also Ohio State alumni and one of my sisters currently attends Ohio State as a senior. I grew up near Dayton, Ohio. My hobbies include reading, video games, board games, running, biking, and basketball, and I am an avid supporter of Ohio State athletics.

Currently reading:
Pact by J.C. McCrae (web serial)

Currently playing:
Persona 4 Golden (PC)
Divinity: Orginal Sin II (PC)