Introduction
Welcome! I am an Assistant Professor of Physics and Astronomy at the University of Notre Dame. I use observational techniques to discover exoplanets and characterize their fundamental properties.
Exoplanet science is an explosive new field catalyzed by the discovery of over 5000 planets orbiting other stars via ground-based observations and the NASA Kepler and TESS space telescopes. Among these discoveries, the planets in multi-planet and multi-star systems offer a unique but relatively unexplored lens for understanding the solar system. My research group uses telescopes to discover new planets and characterize their fundamental properties in dynamically rich, multi-body planetary systems.
My research highlights include:
Discovered the transition between rocky and volatile-enveloped planets at 1.5 Earth radii
Discovered the similar sizes and regular spacings of planets in coplanar multi-planet systems (the "peas in a pod" pattern)
Principal Investigator of multiple NASA-supported grants
Observed >160 nights on Keck-HIRES and Keck-KPF as part of the California Planet Search collaboration.
Experience in self-consistent analysis of Doppler and transit-timing variations/photometry to determine planet masses and N-body orbital dynamics
Maunakea, Hawai`i
Reykjavik, Iceland
