Tell me a little about yourself.
I'm going to be a second year grad student at UMass Amherst, and I study galaxy evolution. I'm from Phoenix, Arizona, but I've lived all over the US at various points. I like to read all sorts of books, but especially fantasy. My favorites right now are the Broken Earth Trilogy and The Dispossessed. I like hanging out with my pets (I have a dog and cat at home and a cat in Massachusetts), cooking, and going on Wikipedia for long periods of time. I play a few instruments badly-- piano, guitar and ukulele.
How did you get interested in astronomy?
I was always excited by space as a kid, but I was also interested in science in general. When I got to college I was thinking about being a biology major, but I took a physics class instead and really liked that. I started doing research with Cindy Blaha at Carleton College who studies Local Group galaxies. I really enjoyed that experience and then realized that I loved physics and astronomy.
What is your favorite part about Copenhagen? DAWN?
I love how walkable and bikeable and how easy to get around it is. I've only lived in places where the easiest way to get around is by car so I love the emphasis on public transport and biking. It's a really liveable city. I like how collaborative DAWN is and how it seems like everyone is working on similar problems. It seems like a really great environment to study high redshift galaxies.
What motivated you to apply to an international REU?
My advisor being involved definitely influenced me to apply, but also I've never had the chance to do a study abroad type program in undergrad so it seemed like a neat opportunity to live somewhere else for a while and get to do research.
Can you tell me about your PhD research?
Broadly, I am studying how dust evolves in galaxies from cosmic noon to the more local universe. The project I'm working on right now is how dust mass in star forming galaxies evolves using LMT/TolTEC data.
What skills and knowledge would you like to acquire this summer?
I've mostly been trying to develop a stacking algorithm so that when I get data from TolTEC I will be able to immediately process it and get the dust masses for the galaxies I'm working with. I'm also improving my biking skills -- before this summer, I hadn't ridden a bike since elementary school.
If you could have any superpower what would it be?
I think the ability to control time would be helpful. Not necessarily being able to go forward or backwards in time, but just pause.