A bit more about myself…

I did my undergraduate work at the University of Washington (UW) and graduated with a B.S. in Physics and a B.S. in Astronomy. During my time at UW, I worked with Dr. Eric Agol to model an eclipsing binary T-Tauri star to understand whether or not a newly formed planet was embedded in the star system’s circumbinary disk of gas and dust. After graduating, I joined the Department of Astrophysical and Planetary Sciences at the University of Colorado to pursue a PhD. I worked with Dr. J. Michael Shull to understand how reverse shocks in supernova remnants can act as efficient dust destruction mechanisms and how much the intergalactic medium deviates from an equilibrium ionization state.

After completing my PhD work, I moved to Lansing, MI where worked for a year as a postdoc with the Joint Institute for Nuclear Astrophysics at Michigan State University (MSU). During that year, I was awarded a National Science Foundation Astronomy and Astrophysics Postdoctoral Fellowship to stay at MSU and pursue independent research in areas related to the intergalactic and circumgalactic media.

Upon completing my NSF fellowship, I joined the faculty in the newly-created Department of Computational Mathematics, Science, and Engineering at MSU as a Teaching Specialist. Currently, my primary duties involves designing curricula for and teaching CMSE 201 and CMSE 202, “Introduction to Computational Modeling” and “Tools and Techniques of Computational Modeling”, respectively. As an educator, I strive to use research-based pedagogy and promote equitable and inclusive learning environments.

Off campus, I enjoy interacting with the public through science outreach, including at the “Astronomy on Tap” events that I organize and host in Lansing. These events involve two of my favorite things, science and craft beer. I’m also a bit of a coffee snob and have learned to roast my own coffee beans and covet a quality cup of joe. I enjoy spending time outdoors for both fitness and fun and I’m constantly learning about the wonders that Michigan has to offer, when it’s not buried under snow.

Lastly, if you ever get the itch to talk in depth about the various characters in the DC Comics universe, I’d be happy to chat at length over a craft beer or cup of coffee.