I am a recent PhD graduate at the University of Maryland - College Park in Chemical Physics. My research is in the area of ultrafast/ultraintense laser physics under Professor Wendell Hill. My thesis topic was focused on developing techniques to measure the intensity at the focus of an ultraintense pulsed laser as well as to measure vacuum pressures using relativistic Thomson scattered light. When a focused infrared laser pulse collides with a gas target, electrons formerly bound to the molecules and atoms comprising the gas are liberated due to laser-induced ionization. These electrons oscillate and are propelled as a result of their interaction with the laser field, emitting radiation much like an antenna. It is this radiation, known to be relativistic (also called nonlinear) Thomson scattered radiation, that was studied in my thesis.The measurements included:- Performing spectroscopy on light captured within a gate of 5 ns using an intensified CCD camera - Angular distribution measurements of light using photomultipliers (MPPCs) placed inside a vacuum chamber- Angular distribution measurements of light filtered within the 600-650 nm band using fiber optic cables to relay the light out from inside a vacuum chamber to a streak camera that enabled a temporal gate of 300 psThese proof-of-principle experiments were conducted using the VEGA-2 200 TW and VEGA-3 1 PW lasers at CLPU in Salamanca, Spain spread over three campaigns. Furthermore, I contributed to theoretical studies that modeled and simulated various systems producing relativistic Thomson scattered radiation to understand the underlying physical effects (relativistic Doppler effect, harmonic generation, and laser intensity distribution) responsible for the spectral and angular characteristics observed in measurements.I graduated from the University of California - Los Angeles with a Bachelors of Science in Physics and a minor in Mathematics, having transferred from Pasadena City College. While I was a senior undergraduate, I worked as a research assistant working for the Barium-133 AMO Physics research group supervised by Professor Eric Hudson. In this role, I learned about FPGAs and Python coding for instrument control.I served in the Army Reserves from 2008 to 2017 as a Signal Support Systems Specialist, am experienced with information technology and Army radio communications, and have been deployed once to Afghanistan. I entered the IRR in 2018, and returned to the Reserves in 2020 serving as an Intelligence Analyst at a Technical Intelligence unit.