Tom Esposito Email & Phone Number

Richmond, Ca, Us

San Francisco, California, United States

Berkeley, California, United States

I transitioned to a part-time assistant researcher investigating circumstellar disks, exoplanets, and the interactions between them. My work centers on high-contrast, near-infrared imaging of these planetary systems using instruments aboard the Hubble Space Telescope, Gemini Planet Imager (GPI) in Chile, and NIRC2 at W.M. Keck Observatory in Hawaii, and others. One way I do this is as a member of the GPI Exoplanet Survey (GPIES) team that is using the cutting-edge GPI instrument to discover and characterize new Jupiter-like planets and dust-rich circumstellar disks. In particular, I focus on imaging debris disks by the starlight that their dust particles scatter and constructing multidimensional models of their dust distributions to learn about the physical mechanisms operating in these reservoirs of planet-forming material. The goal here is to better understand the diverse population of exoplanets in our galactic neighborhood, how those planets were shaped by an array of physical forces, and how our own Solar System fits into this larger picture we are starting to draw. As part of this work, I am also developing advanced image processing, data reduction, and modeling techniques that will benefit future studies in this field.

Berkeley, California, United States

Transitioned to part-time as I started part-time work at the SETI Institute.

Berkeley, Ca

I am a postdoctoral researcher investigating circumstellar disks, exoplanets, and the interactions between them. My work centers on high-contrast, near-infrared imaging of these planetary systems using instruments such as the Gemini Planet Imager (GPI) in Chile and NIRC2 at W.M. Keck Observatory in Hawaii. One way I do this is as a member of the GPI Exoplanet Survey (GPIES) team that is using the cutting-edge GPI instrument to discover and characterize new Jupiter-like planets and dust-rich circumstellar disks. In particular, I focus on imaging debris disks via scattered starlight and constructing multidimensional models of their dust distributions to learn about the physical mechanisms operating in these reservoirs of planet-forming material. The goal here is to better understand the diverse population of exoplanets in our galactic neighborhood, how those planets were shaped by an array of forces, and how our own Solar System fits into this larger picture we are starting to draw. As part of this work, I am also developing advanced image processing, data reduction, and modeling techniques that will benefit future studies in this field.

Mountain View, California, United States

Detecting exoplanets through transit observations with the Unistellar eVscope citizen science network of small telescopes. I am also testing and improving methods for exoplanet and circumstellar disk detection via high contrast imaging with the Gemini Planet Imager.

Los Angeles, Ca

As an astronomy Ph.D. student, my research focused on high-contrast imaging of circumstellar disks and exoplanets using advanced direct imaging techniques. I combined observations with sophisticated image-processing and modeling methods to investigate the state and evolution of extrasolar planetary systems. I was also a member of the UCLA Infrared Lab and the team performing the upgrade of the OSIRIS imager instrument on the 10-meter Keck I telescope.

Los Angeles, Ca

My responsibilities included management of the planetarium and telescopes at UCLA. In detail, planetarium management duties included scheduling shows, presenting shows, organizing events, maintaining equipment, training volunteers, developing show content, procuring funding, engaging donors, budgeting, advertising, and maintaining the website & social media presence. Telescope duties included organizing and leading public/private viewing events, maintaining equipment, and training operators.

I researched ultra-high energy cosmic rays as a member of the New York Schools Cosmic Particle Telescope project at NYU. My work consisted of setting up equipment and hardware for a prototype water tank muon detection system, writing data analysis software, and running particle shower simulations using the HERWIG code. I also assisted on another project that involved compiling a catalogue of active galactic nuclei based on a single consistent set of criteria.

Doctor Of Philosophy (Phd), Astronomy

Master Of Science, Astronomy

B.S., Physics, Italian

Graduated cum laude with honors from the Georgetown Physics Department.