Tell me a little about yourself.
I am a third year PhD student at University of Massachusetts and I live out there in Western Massachusetts. I am from Northern Connecticut which is a similar area. In my free time I like to play music. I play the electric bass and the cello, and I like to play prog rock/metal and classical music. I like to play and watch any sport. Recently my favorite sports to play are soccer and frisbee. I play a lot of board games with friends. I really like geography -- maps, any kind of exploring of places and exploring the areas around.
How did you get interested in astronomy?
I don't know if there is any one thing that got me interested in astronomy. I have always been interested in science, math, and physics. But I guess the scale and how grand astronomy is what drew me in. I didn't go to college knowing I wanted to do astronomy, but it became interesting to me over time.
What is your favorite part about Copenhagen? DAWN?
I like how easy it is to get around-- walking, metro, biking. I also like how much there is to do and see that you can get to super easily. I've spent time at Tivoli, gone to some museums, gone to Reffen, did a canal tour, and spent time in some parks.
DAWN feels really lively. There's always people eating or hanging around in the hall, so you really get to see everyone and interact with people. That is helpful for motivating you to do work, as opposed to being trapped in your office alone.
What motivated you to apply to an international REU?
I had done a program similar to this at DARK, so I already knew I liked Copenhagen and the idea of an international REU. I hoped that now as a grad student and having experience here that that could kind of help. I thought my experience would be able to help others as well.
Can you tell me about your PhD research?
Most recently I have been measuring resolved star formation histories for star forming galaxies. I'm pivoting now towards trying to infer them for quenched galaxies. I also work a lot with making galaxy catalogs -- for morphology and photometry.
What skills and knowledge would you like to acquire this summer?
Mentoring and leadership. Also, hopefully being able to improve skills to set up pipelines to make catalogs. I'd also like to improve on data presentation, e.g., giving talks.
If you could have any superpower what would it be?
Seeing how rough flying has been for people in the last few weeks, it would be great to get to teleport.
Visit Sam’s professional webpage at https://samecutler.github.io or follow him on Twitter @secutler.