November, 2012 to Present
I am currently a graduate student working with Dr. Lutz Haberzettl studying star formation and disk evolution in galaxies at redshift z ∼ 2, around the time of the Universal peak in star formation. More specifically, we study Lyman break galaxies for their dust masses and temperatures, as well as star formation rates. We're also beginning a morphological examination of star forming galaxies just before and after this epoch, attempting to track the evolution of thick and thin disks using color maps.
Link to Disk Growth Poster (2014)
May, 2011 to November, 2011
I worked both on-site and long-distance with Dr. Robert Nichol at the Institute of Cosmology and Gravitation at the University of Portsmouth examining the potential environmental dependence of the difference between the lensing and dynamical masses of galaxies. If found, this dependence could have formed the basis of a "smoking gun" for modified gravity. Using data from the Sloan Digital Sky Survey, I determined the galaxy masses and defined galactic neighborhoods in which to make relative density estimations. The research ended in a null result, but gave rise to a poster at the 119th Meeting of the American Astronomical Society and to completion of a senior honors thesis at the University of Louisville.
May, 2010 to May, 2011
I worked with Dr. James Lauroesch at the University of Louisville studying quasar PKS 0528-250. I examined the absorption lines of the quasar to determine the chemical abundances of the systems lying along the line of sight.