I’m an Assistant Professor in the Department of Astronomy & Astrophysics at University of California, San Diego.
My research program builds connections between the fields of stellar dynamics and compact object astrophysics. My areas of expertise include N-body simulations of dense star clusters, detection of compact object binaries via gravitational waves (e.g., LIGO & LISA), and high-energy transient phenomena such as tidal disruption events and fast radio bursts. I have also worked on binary star evolution, hydrodynamics of stellar mergers, millisecond pulsars, intermediate-mass black holes, and X-ray binaries. You can read specifics about a few of my research projects here.
I grew up in Kettering, Ohio and attended Northwestern University for my undergraduate studies where I double majored in physics and music performance. After undergrad, I spent three years pursuing a career as an orchestral musician (earning a master of music degree at the Colburn School in Los Angeles in 2015) before ultimately returning to Northwestern where I completed my PhD in astronomy in 2019, advised by Fred Rasio. After finishing my PhD, I moved back to southern California as an NSF Postdoctoral Fellow and then NASA Einstein Fellow at Caltech and Carnegie Observatories.
My research program builds connections between the fields of stellar dynamics and compact object astrophysics. My areas of expertise include N-body simulations of dense star clusters, detection of compact object binaries via gravitational waves (e.g., LIGO & LISA), and high-energy transient phenomena such as tidal disruption events and fast radio bursts. I have also worked on binary star evolution, hydrodynamics of stellar mergers, millisecond pulsars, intermediate-mass black holes, and X-ray binaries. You can read specifics about a few of my research projects here.
I grew up in Kettering, Ohio and attended Northwestern University for my undergraduate studies where I double majored in physics and music performance. After undergrad, I spent three years pursuing a career as an orchestral musician (earning a master of music degree at the Colburn School in Los Angeles in 2015) before ultimately returning to Northwestern where I completed my PhD in astronomy in 2019, advised by Fred Rasio. After finishing my PhD, I moved back to southern California as an NSF Postdoctoral Fellow and then NASA Einstein Fellow at Caltech and Carnegie Observatories.