Melissa Hoffman Email & Phone Number

Baltimore, Maryland, United States

- Plan and schedule for the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) mission - Develop and implement testing procedures for JWST and RST software

Charlottesville, Virginia Area

I provide assistance to observatory users by manually reducing data and assessing data quality as well as operate a data reduction pipeline. I help visiting scientists in preparation of proposals, observing scripts, data reduction, data analysis and archive access and provide support to the NAASC helpdesk by responding to a queries, forwarding to another expert, following up on open queries, etc. I assist in the generation and editing of CASAGuides and helpdesk knowledge based articles and support scientific staff with testing of software and procedures, as requested and maintain relevant web page content and other documentation to ensure user information stays current.

Stony Brook, Ny

Uncertainty Quantification in Computational Astrophysics, January 2015-present advised by Alan Calder I studied uncertainty quantification (UQ) in the stellar evolution code Modules for Experiments in Stellar Astrophysics (MESA). I'm using Python and NuGridPy to analyze MESA models of stars evolved to CO white dwarves. I was awarded 100,000 CPU-hours on the HPC system at the Stony Brook Institute for Advanced Computational Science to work further on this project. CO Galaxy SurveyMay - September 2014advised by Jin Koda I made maps of galaxies from a CO(J=1-0) survey from CARMA and Nobeyama. I used datareduction software MIRIAD to create iterative routines for removing interferometry artifactsand recovering the maximum signal to image galaxies and create final data cubes.

Stony Brook, Ny

AST 101: Introduction to AstronomyAST 105: Introduction to the Solar SystemAST 112: Astronomy LaboratoryI planned and conducted a weekly introductory astronomy lab, including writing and giving a 10-20 minute lecture and preparing the lab or observatory. I graded quizzes, labs, and tests and gave several lectures for professor when away.

Stony Brook, Ny

I created the logo and branding for SBU’s Student run STEM magazine. I create original graphics andfind stock photos for articles and blog entries. I produce & update website content using articles from the magazine. http://sbufrontiers.com/

Madison, Nj

"The New Jersey Governor’s School in the Sciences (NJGSS) is a 3-week residential program where students are immersed in intense college-level research on the campus of Drew University"I served as a mentor and counselor for NJGSS students.I worked as a T.A. for the Special Relativity course, which included grading homework and quizzes, leading review sessions after class, and assisting individual students.I led a small group project on celestial mechanics, which included a mathematical exercise in Keplarian mechanics as well as constructing a sundial.

Madison, Nj

PHYS 101/102 Introductory Astronomy The Solar System/Stars, Galaxies, and the CosmosPHYS 111/112 Introductory Physics I/IIPHYS 150/160 University Physics I/III held weekly review session for students in calculus & non-calculus Introductory Physics. I helped students work in teams to tackle problems, lead group on trouble problems, and worked individually with students as needed.

Madison, Nj

Ground state energy calculations of polynomial potentials based on Hamiltonian moments • 2012-2013• advised by Robert Murawski• I studied various method of numerical approximations for quantum mechanics problemswithout analytic solutions. I examined efficiency and compared methods mainly using Mathematica for computation and analysis. I presented this research at a poster session at the American Physical Society March Meeting in Baltimore, MD which took place March 18-22, 2013.Drew Summer Science Institute • summers 2010 and 201• advised by Robert Murawski• I observed eclipsing variable ZZ Cygnus, and variables Delta Cephei and SS Cygni. I collected data,reduced images and used differential photometry to make light curves.

Madison, Nj

• Drew weekly graphics for The Acorn, both stand alone editorial pieces and article graphics• Edit, manage, and deliberate which graphics and illustrations go into the newspaper • From Fall 2011 to Spring 2013, served as Graphics Editor

College Park, Md

• I designed a physics outreach demo and activity kit for physics department outreach events with another SPS intern. Our SOCK explored the invisible forces that make up our cosmos - namely, gravity and magnetism. • We ordered and tested parts and demos in various settings and age groups. We went into 3rd grade and high school classrooms in VA, a science camp for young women at the University of Maryland, and a summer science camp for students from under privileged areas at UM. • We presented our project at the American Association of Physics Teachers winter meeting in New Orleans, LA on January 5-9, 2013. • http://www.aapt.org/AbstractSearch/FullAbstract.cfm?KeyID=21239

Madison, Nj

• I mentored and served as a lab assistant for a pre-college program in a six week biology centered course.• I led group review sessions each week, assisted with weekly labs, and individually tutored students in the program.

Master Of Arts (M.A.), Physics And Astronomy

Activities and Societies: Frontiers STEM Magazine

Bachelor Of Arts (B.A.), Physics, Mathematics, Summa Cum Laude

Activities and Societies: Society of Physics Students, Sigma Pi Sigma, Pi Mu Epsilon, The Acorn

High School Diploma