About Me

Hi, welcome to my website! I'm an astronomer, educator, and general explorer of our amazing Universe. My work traces the biographies of massive stars, the cosmic engines that shape stellar and galactic evolution. You can learn more about my past and active projects here.

I hold a B.Sc. in Physics from the University of Rochester (with a minor in Medieval and Early Modern Studies) and a Ph.D. in Physics from the University of Delaware, where I specialized in stellar astrophysics. In my current position, I lead the optical analysis for the Treasury of Extremely Metal-Poor O Stars (TEMPOS) program, through which we study the massive stellar population of nearby dwarf galaxies, the local analogs to the environments expected in the early Universe. I also co-lead the development of SpecpolFlow, an open-source software package for spectropolarimetry.

I previously held an appointment as a Research Assistant Professor in the Department of Physics and Astronomy at East Tennessee State University, where I taught classes, conducted research, and worked as a faculty mentor with the Ronald E. McNair Post-baccalaureate Achievement Program. My students and I designed and produced a show for the ETSU Planetarium called "Astronomy in Appalachian Culture," which premiered in the Spring of 2023. You can check out the article we wrote about it in the September 2024 issue of the Planetarian , the journal of the International Planetarium Society.

Aside from stars, I spend time thinking about Cultural Astronomy (which connects the study of the universe to the human experience throughout history) and Physics and Astronomy pedagogical theory (how we teach and learn). Both of these topics connect "Astronomy in the Academy" to "Astronomy in the World" in new, exciting, and creative ways. Check out my current projects to learn more!