Currently
I began work at the University of Hawaii’s Institute for Astronomy in July of 2006. I worked with Dr. Ann Boesgaard on beryllium abundances in metal-poor stars, and in October of 2006 began working with Lisa Kewley on modeling the environments of metal-poor galaxies. I passed the IfA’s qualifying exam in September 2007 and my comprehensive exam in March 2008, where my Ph.D. thesis topic, “Exploring the Environments of Long-Duration Gamma-Ray Bursts”, was approved. I was awarded a Ford Predoctoral Diversity Fellowship from the Ford Foundation in April 2008. Since August 2008 I have working on my Ph.D. thesis from Harvard University as a Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory Predoctoral Fellow, with Dr. Robert Kirshner and Dr. Edo Berger. I plan on pursuing postdoctoral work in astronomy after finishing my Ph.D. and getting the coolest set of doctoral robes ever.

In my spare time I love to do anything that gets me outdoors and to interesting places. At the moment this includes backpacking, traveling, camping, skiing, cycling, hiking, rock climbing, surfing, running, kayaking, swimming, fire poi, snorkeling…additions to the list are always welcome! Skill level varies considerably across the activities, but these are my favorite ways to spend my free time. I do feel pretty lucky that my astronomy endeavors have taken me to so many places where these pursuits are possible. I like the idea that studying the universe has helped me discover my own planet! Picture of new and old adventures and misadventures can be found over here. I also enjoy writing, particularly poetry and outdoor/travel essays, and am always keeping an eye out for opportunities to begin getting some of my work published.

Undergrad
I attended the Massachusetts Institute of Technology from 2002 through 2006, pursuing a bachelors degree in physics and living happily in East Campus. I worked at the MIT Museum and participated in MIT’s Undergraduate Research Opportunities Program, working with Drs. Paul Joss, Walter Lewin, and Sebastian Heinz of the MIT Center for Space Research. I attended the Astronomy Field Camp at Lowell Observatory in January of 2004, working with Dr. Sally Oey. More on my research with Dr. Heinz and Dr. Oey can be found here.

During the summer of 2004 I attended the National Science Foundation’s Research Experience for Undergraduates Program at Lowell Observatory, beginning the research with Dr. Philip Massey that is still on-going today. This summer work led to our discovery of the three largest stars in the known universe. During the summer 2005 I again participated in an REU program, this time with Dr. Vincent Fish at the National Radio Astronomy Observatory in Socorro, NM.

At the end of my senior year I received the Alan H. Barrett Prize in Astrophysics and Joel Matthew Orloff Research Award for most outstanding senior thesis from the MIT Physics Department. I was an Emerson Scholar during my freshman year and played violin in the MIT Symphony Orchestra. During 2004 I was a Burchard Scholar through the Department of Humanities, Arts, and Social Science. In the end, I received an S.B. in Physics and minors in astronomy and creative writing.

Bio
I grew up in East Taunton, Massachusetts, and graduated from Taunton High School in 2002. Through the end of high school I studied the violin and trombone, and kept busy with the usual suspects that occupy any geeky high school student: science fairs, band, orchestra, drama club, math team, astronomy club, the works! I spent some excellent summers at the Johns Hopkins CTY programs, summer@Brown, and the Cornell University summer college – I’d highly recommend any of these summer programs to interested students! I also spent the summer before college working as a highly-trained service provider at a famed and illustrious pastry shop.