As part of the University of Washington's Student Quasar Absorption Diagnosticians (SQuAD) we are studying the circumgalactic medium through an in depth analysis of over 600 galaxies in the CGM^2 survey. Quasars are used as background sources to study the light's absorption features and determine gaseous ionization states near the quasar's line of sight. Data analysis is done through a combination of python and a software known as GALFIT to classify galaxy morphology.

This project analyzes the radius "valley" found in exoplanets with a radius between 1.5-2.0 Earth radii. We plan to use Python to fit light curves to a large survey of exoplanets to improve the planetary parameters that already exist and then turn our focus to building an explanation for the radius “valley”. I plan to work on this project to completion until the end of the summer in 2023.

This Trappist-1 projects uses transit data (and corresponding transit timing variations) of the system to constrain the number of parameters necessary to find reliable estimates for the mass of each exoplanet. Using previously established planetary parameters for Trappist 1 our team will test the lower limit of transit data that is necessary to obtain the same or similar results for the mass ratios of each exoplanet. The hope for this project is that a methodology can be developed using a… Show more This Trappist-1 projects uses transit data (and corresponding transit timing variations) of the system to constrain the number of parameters necessary to find reliable estimates for the mass of each exoplanet. Using previously established planetary parameters for Trappist 1 our team will test the lower limit of transit data that is necessary to obtain the same or similar results for the mass ratios of each exoplanet. The hope for this project is that a methodology can be developed using a smaller amount of data in combination with our optimization models to find reliable parameters for multiplanetary systems. Show less

The search for life beyond Earth drives our incentive to develop and interpret accurate models of a variety of planets and simulate spectra that may be retrieved by means of radiative transfer. The Global Emission Spectra (GlobES) module of the Planetary Spectrum Generator (PSG) is used to ingest 3-D general circulation model (GCM) simulated atmospheres to create realistic spectra of the planets in our solar system, therefore providing advanced spectral simulations of planets that may be used… Show more The search for life beyond Earth drives our incentive to develop and interpret accurate models of a variety of planets and simulate spectra that may be retrieved by means of radiative transfer. The Global Emission Spectra (GlobES) module of the Planetary Spectrum Generator (PSG) is used to ingest 3-D general circulation model (GCM) simulated atmospheres to create realistic spectra of the planets in our solar system, therefore providing advanced spectral simulations of planets that may be used as analogs for distant exoplanets. The intention with my research is to gain an understanding of the distances which it may be possible, for example, to detect an exoJupiter or an exoEarth and allow us to constrain the limitations of our instruments ability to detect exoplanets with similar planetary characteristics. Show less