Research

I primarily work on strong gravitational lensing in clusters of galaxies. Galaxy clusters are the most massive gravitationally bound objects in the universe, and often bend the light of more distant objects into distorted arcs. There's a lot you can learn from this: you can use them as telescopes to study magnified images of the earliest galaxies; you can map the distribution of mass in the cluster, including invisible Dark Matter; you can even use them to measure the expansion of the universe.

My work focuses on using the inner mass profile of galaxy clusters to constrain alternate models of Dark Matter, particularly Self-Interacting Dark Matter (SIDM).

The Dark Energy Survey

I have worked with the Galaxy Clusters working group in DES since my undergraduate years. My first work in cosmology was implementing the likelihoood for the DES Y3 galaxy cluster cosmology analysis, work in which I am still involved. I also am a member of the Early Career Scientists committee in DES, helping organize town halls, career and social events for ECS in DES.

As a graduate student, I led a search for strong gravitational lenses in DES data ( O'Donnell 2022 ) which found a diverse set of galaxy- and cluster-scale lenses. We are currently obtaining follow-up spectroscopic observations and working to model the highest-quality cluster lenses in the sample.

X-Ray Astronomy

X-Ray observations can directly measure hot diffuse gas in galaxy clusters, providing powerful constraints on their overall mass and dynamical state. My graduate work has involved taking charge of the MATCha pipeline , improving its analysis to measure things like core and core-excised X-Ray observables, and applying MATCha to new samples of galaxy clusters. Many of the important analyses of MATCha data are done by current and former undergrads in our group.

Outreach

As a member of the UCSC Physics Outreach Task Force , I organize our regular No-Jargon Talk series and help plan our quarterly Dumb Question Nights. Both of these events have been a lot of fun, and we are excited to continue hosting them!

I also participate in our Society of Physics Students' mentorship program (which my mentee Ethan Palmer is organizing this year!).