Research

I work with Professor Pat Burchat to validate shear estimator calibration on simulations of galaxies with realistic chromatic effects for unbiased precision weak lensing cosmology with LSST DESC.

I worked with Professor Aaron Roodman to characterize LSST CCD sensors for integration and testing.

I worked with Professor Risa Wechsler and Ethan O. Nadler with the Galaxy Formation and Cosmology group at Stanford University. I am leading an analysis using N-body zoom-in simulations for a decaying dark matter cosmology to determine a subhalo mass function for decaying dark matter and to ultimately use the Milky Way satellite census to constrain the decay lifetime of dark matter.

I worked with Professor Alex Drlica-Wagner as part of the Survey Science group at UChicago on searching for dwarf galaxies in data from DES, MagLiteS, BLISS and DELVE. In collaboration with Professor Drlica-Wagner and William Cerny, I led the discovery and characterization of a new ultra-faint dwarf galaxy, Centaurus I, and two new faint star clusters, BLISS 1 and DELVE 1. I contributed to the characterization of the observational selection function for Milky Way satellites in DES Y3 and Pan-STARRS DR1 as well as using these results to inform constraints on the galaxy–halo connection. I have observed with DECam at the 4m Blanco telescope in-person and remotely for MagLiteS and DELVE.

• The Milky Way’s satellites help reveal link between dark matter halos and galaxy formation
• Dark Energy Survey census of the smallest galaxies hones the search for dark matter
• New faint ultra-diffuse dwarf galaxy discovered

I worked with Professor Mark Oreglia on searching for invisible decays of the Higgs boson in ATLAS data. I developed a framework for training a neural network on simulated ATLAS data that is now being implemented to increase our sensitivity for detecting exotic decays of the Higgs boson. I repaired 3in1 bigain cards and mainboards being used in the ATLAS Tile Calorimeter as well as helped test and validate upgraded electronics for the ATLAS detector's hadronic calorimeter in anticipation of the High-Luminosity LHC. I contributed code for analyzing radiation simulations to understand the required electronics tolerances and for analyzing the statistical impacts of a risk register to cost and scheduling for the ATLAS experiment.

• ATLAS probes dark matter using the Higgs boson

I worked with Dr. Scott C. Dudley on exploring physics using accelerometers and other sensors found in smartphones and similar devices. We also explored using the iOLab system to make novel measurements in the classroom, including mapping the flow of current through a copper sheet.

• TASIS Presents Posters at American Association of Physics Teachers’ Summer Meeting