Meredith Rawls Email & Phone Number

Seattle, WA, US

Seattle, Washington, United States

I work for Vera C. Rubin Observatory Data Management, and specifically with the Alert Production team based at UW. Rubin Observatory will undertake the Legacy Survey of Space and Time (LSST). My duties and accomplishments include:* Finding changing and moving objects in the night sky with difference imaging, or subtracting one telescope image from another.

Seattle, WA

I worked as a postdoc with the LSST Data Management team in the UW Department of Astronomy on Alert Production.

Remote

Continuing stellar astronomy research with my colleagues at NMSU.

Las Cruces, NM And Remote

My PhD thesis with Dr. Jason Jackiewicz explores how observations of eclipsing binaries containing a red giant star can be used as a benchmark for asteroseismic studies. I work with Kepler light curves, echelle spectra, and multiband photometry to create well-constrained photodynamical models and investigate why some of the red giants don’t oscillate when.

Las Cruces, NM

I taught an introductory Astronomy laboratory (Astronomy 110G). Responsibilities include giving short lectures, grading student assignments, directing lab work, and coordinating with the professor who teaches the lecture portion of the course.I helped develop and teach online laboratory exercises for a distance education version of this course. This.

I write monthly posts about recent research papers in astronomy and astrophysics.

Bangalore, India

Participant in the IRES (International Research Experience Students) program in Bangalore, India. Worked with M. S. Rao at the Indian Institute of Astrophysics to analyze light curves of several binary star systems in the LMC.

San Diego, CA

Worked with Dr. Jerry Orosz to refine the masses of neutron stars in X-ray pulsar binaries. The goal of my Master's thesis was to obtain the best possible mass measurements for the neutron stars in six different X-ray binaries. The project incorporated recent optical observations (photometry and spectroscopy) and various numerical techniques.

San Diego, CA

Taught two sections of Astronomy 109 Lab to non-science majors. Responsibilities include giving short lectures, grading student assignments, directing lab work, staffing the astronomy help room, and doing planetarium shows.

Backyard astronomer, lifeguard, mentor to small group leaders, musician (guitar and viola), kitchen helper, camp grounds worker. The most rewarding job I have ever held. I also served as a Program Staff member in 2005 and 2006.

Graded student assignments in PHYS 117 - Statistical Mechanics for instructor Prof. Greg Lyzenga.

Worked with Dr. Inese Ivans to create stellar atmospheric models for stars in M4 and learn about their chemical compositions.Participated in two observing runs to Las Campanas Observatory, Chile, and took control of the 6.5m Clay Magellan telescope for two nights.

Phd, Astronomy

Dissertation topic: Red Giants in Eclipsing Binaries as a Benchmark for Asteroseismology

Ms, Astronomy

Courses include Binary Stars, Accretion Power & Radiative Processes, Galaxies & Cosmology, Stellar Atmospheres & Interiors, Galactic.

Bs, Physics

Activities and Societies: Violist in Pomona College Orchestra, Violist in Claremont Concert Orchestra, CCO viola section leader (fall 05.